Photo Source: Ken Jacques
Musical Theatre West resurrects three of the four cast members from its April 2009 staging of the first "Greatest Hits"—Susanne Blakeslee, David Engel, and Larry Raben—and adds Valerie Fagan to the mix. The quartet functions as a unit, each member moving seamlessly from one set of concepts, costumes, props, and songs to the next. While each shows an obvious gift for and love of thumbing his or her nose at the various targets (something they do literally in the opening and closing numbers) and has the comedic and musical skills to match, the evening's star is Blakeslee, whose gift for impersonation is almost uncanny. The actor nails the voice, look, quirks, and mannerisms of Barbra Streisand, Carol Channing, Judy Garland, and Julie Andrews (as both Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp). In doing so, she mercilessly mocks the personalities and all of the traits that made these ladies so famous. Just a notch below is her impersonation of Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, an admittedly more difficult task owing to Close's less-distinctive persona.
Take Blakeslee out of the mix and the remaining high points come from Alessandrini's high-concept trashing of beloved musical theater songs and characters through lyrics that are "delicious" yet "slightly vicious" (to quote the wonderful opening number "A Parody Tonight"). We already know the tunes; the fun is in hearing how the new lyrics will lay waste to their subjects and in seeing timeworn characters behave in ways that either accentuate or contradict their well-known traits. Perhaps the single best example of this is "A Cats Line," the Act 2 opener, in which four singer-dancers, in full "Cats" costumes and makeup, vie for roles in the chorus of a new musical a la "A Chorus Line," then appear in top hats and shimmering gold vests for an inspired ribbing of that show's climactic song "One." A spoof of "Fugue for Tinhorns" mocks ticket scalpers and inflicting mass-market musicals upon your least favorite relatives, while a spoof of "Rent" lampoons "525,600 write-ups" (spreads, photos etc.).
Equally memorable are David Engel's masterful impressions of a Robert Goulet unable to recall his lyrics, mixing songs from "South Pacific," "Camelot," "Man of La Mancha," and "La Cage aux Folles," and of a Michael Crawford being given lessons on how to belt out a song sans microphone by Fagan's grinning, zealous Ethel Merman, who reappears later in the show to remind us she only needed to belt, not act, dance, or sing softly. Raben shines in copying Mandy Patinkin's signature overindulgent vocal style and as Stephen Sondheim in an audience sing-along of "Into the Words."
Not all the scenes hit the bull's-eye. Perhaps to pad the show out to full length, several skits have been recycled from "Volume 1," including the Act 1 closer, an elaborate mocking of "Les Misérables." While not quite as funny as the first time around, these segments are still welcome. As Smedal provides a sturdy musical foundation, Alvin Colt's costumes, Monique Ayala's wardrobe coordination, and Anthony Gagliardi's wigs complete each actor's transformation into Broadway's best-known figures. Justin "Squigs" Robertson's proscenium caricatures of Merman, Channing, Streisand, "Annie," and more complement the mirthful mockery of a show that skillfully if not consistently lampoons everything we love and detest about the institution of the Broadway musical.
Presented by Musical Theatre West at Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach. April 14–29. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m. Sat. and Sun., 2 p.m. (Additional performance Sun., April 22, 7 p.m.) (562) 856-1999 ext. 4 or www.musical.org.
