|
|
| ||
 |
The Observer "How To Succeed" Brings Down The HouseBy Matthew BernardoLast weekend, the CWRU Footlighters staged their fifth performance since their founding in the spring of 1998. The groups launched a spirited and electric performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a production that was well chosen to highlight the comedic talents of the cast. How to Succeed is a return to the lighthearted and almost absurd fare that the Footlighters last tackled in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in the fall of 1999. More serious productions of Godspell and Cabaret naturally curtailed much of in the natural exuberance that the group creates while on stage together, but the current production proves once again that the Footlighters are truly the masters of the musical comedies with really long names. First-time Footlighter performer Dan Tyler took on the main role of an ambitious window washer turned corporate executive with all the moxy and gumption of the character he plays. Assisting him in his climb upward was Beth Jenko as the secretary that is alternatively loved and neglected. Rounding out the main players in the cast were Eric Michael Gray as the chief executive and Jason Koebler as his scheming and incompetent nephew. The play is set in the male dominated world of 1960’s corporate American, where the boardroom is filled with men and the secretary pool with women. The script and songs both exploit and skewer this culture, with numbers like “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm” and “A Secretary is not a Toy.” In the first song, Jenko’s character yearned for the neglect of a powerful executive husband, and the second describes the difficulty of adhering to the official company policy of using secretaries for proper purposes only. The cast wholeheartedly entered into the chauvinistic world they’re parodying. The macho bluster of many of the men, captured perfectly by Eric Michael Gray, and the cavorting and teasing of the secretaries was only made even more hilarious deadpan manner that the actors took. The supporting cast provided one of the most endearing aspects of the show. Many of the players in smaller roles did such a wonderful job that the audience was left hoping they would come back again and again. Carrie Shanafelt’s voluptuous (and nasal) Hedy LaRue stole the stage, whether she was trying to seduce unwitting execs or whining about the tiring life of a secretary. Jeff Marsey, who plays one of Hedy LaRue’s unfortunate victims, embraced his role with such goofiness that it’s almost a shame when he’s shipped off to the Venezuelan offices. Both Jennifer Paradise and Christine Herr did an incredibly convincing job as secretaries that become a pair of very nervous pirate dancers on a television show. The real scene-stealer, however, was certainly Doug Meeson, whom many recall from his hilarious turn as a eunuch in Forum. He brought his impeccable sense of comedic timing and nuance to How to Succeed as an oblivious and unconcerned coffee-drinking executive. Meeson had no difficulty cracking up the audience without even opening his mouth, and by the time Act II begins he could get a laugh simply by strolling across the stage. Director Brian Damron was incredibly pleased with the performances of his cast, affectionately calling the show “campy and exciting.” “A lot of new people auditioned who hadn’t been in a Footlighter’s production before,” he said. “It was a nice fresh cast.” Damron worked previously as the musical director for Cabaret and has been involved in musical theater at several universities. Unfortunately, even the highest quality performances have so far been unable to get the Footlighters what they really need: a permanent stage and funds for sets. USG funds only about 10 percent of the cost of their productions and the rest of the money must be raised through ticket sales, private donations, and program advertisements. |