Photo Source: Ruth Sovronsky
Merman's "Anything Goes" scribes Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse fashioned their fourth (and last) show for her by concocting a story inspired by the Monaco wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier. Liz, who married into Philadelphia Main Line society then got booted from it when her husband died, is determined to get her daughter, Beth, accepted into it. But when Liz and Beth travel all the way to Monaco only to discover they have no wedding invitation, things don't look good. They soon perk up, though, when Liz meets the pretender to the Spanish throne, the Duke of Granada. The fabulously wealthy Liz decides to one-up the Kellys and marry Beth off to the impecunious royal. Of course, Beth has her eye on someone else, Sandy Stewart, scion of the snooty social queen of Philadelphia and Liz's mortal enemy. Once Liz and the duke start falling for each other, it's not hard to see the happy ending hurtling toward us, though Lindsay and Crouse do their best to delay it with complications.
Opening Doors Theatre Company boils shows down to a sleek 80 minutes for its Closing Notice Series, and Adams has done a fine job of keeping plot and structure clear while dumping swaths of dated dialogue. Lyricist Matt Dubey and composer Harold Karr's score is nearly intact, except for two rather wan ballads that Merman had cut during the show's run, "This Is What I Call Love" and "The Game of Love." They were replaced by "Just a Moment Ago" and "I'm Old Enough to Know Better and Young Enough Not to Care," both by Kay Thompson, which are heard here and are definitely an improvement. Merman chose Dubey and Karr for the assignment on the basis of a couple of songs they wrote for "New Faces of 1956" but was ultimately disenchanted with most of their work. Surprisingly, although the score does sound like second-rate Adler and Ross, it comes across entertainingly in context, especially the two songs that Merman subsequently kept in her concert repertoire, "It's Good to Be Here" and "Mutual Admiration Society." Other highlights include Sandy and Beth's "Don't Tell Me" and "If'n," Liz's comic "Mr. Livingstone," and the production number "A New Fangled Tango."
The suave and handsome Damian Norfleet steps into the shoes of Merman's original co-star, Fernando Lamas, and though also too young for the part, he convincingly pours on the Continental charm while displaying a rich singing voice. Fizzy Warren Freeman has the '50s musical juvenile down pat and shares good chemistry with Sarah Lilley's brisk Beth. Chance Blakely scores his laughs as an unctuous factotum to the duke, Kristen Marie is appropriately dishy as Liz's good friend Maud, and Elizabeth Wharton sets Mrs. Stewart's nose suitably skyward. Timothy Try, Chris J. Handley, and Tracie Franklin handle small roles and chorus duties with enthusiastic aplomb. The whole company does well by Christine Schwalenberg's cheeky choreography, which makes inventive use of the tiny Duplex stage.
Musical director Ted Kociolek once again does crisp, clean work and even gets into the act by amusingly playing Liz's favorite horse, who must be cajoled into letting her mistress ride her after an 18-year drought. Indeed, his cameo epitomizes the winking wit that Opening Doors repeatedly brings to these old musicals. The loving spirit is infectious and here floats a show I never thought likely to get off the ground.
Presented by Opening Doors Theatre Company at the Duplex, 61 Christopher St., NYC. Nov. 8–12. Tue.–Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 4 p.m. (800) 838-3006, www.brownpapertickets.com, or www.odtconline.org.
