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The Observer, April 12, 2002 Lucky Stiff a madcap mix of comedy and dramaBy Gina Ventre“Productions that perform with the audience instead of performing for them find the most success,” writes director John Dutton. Living up to his words, the Footlighters’ performance of Lucky Stiff lured Harkness audiences into a madcap adventure involving a put-upon shoe salesman, a wheelchair bound dead man, and a weapon toting ex-mistress eager for some diamonds. Dutton’s production captured the satirical drama as well as the off-the-wall humor of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s work, all the while making use of a performance space that has been a legendary problem for theater groups. Organizing their production of Lucky Stiff involved some ingenuity on the part of cast, crew and directors. The small, traditional Harkness Chapel space had to be transformed into modern Monte Carlo, smoky nightclubs and all. The set took on a multipurpose look with a mysterious fuselage of an airplane above it, something that puzzled unknowing audience members until Rita LaPorta and Vincent DiRuzzio explained it in “Good to Be Alive.” Beds folded out of walls, tables appeared from the wings and human props made onstage bus rides more funny than they should have been. On and offstage ramps for the wheelchair cut down on an already tight space, but somehow wheelchair, full set, and pit orchestra fit perfectly. Amazing if you consider what they had to work with. After some pre-show milling around by one drunk maid and a hyper kinetic bellhop, the cast members finally got down to the business of singing. Starting out strong with “Something Funny’s Going On,” the scene heads into a dim shoe store in East Grinstead where Harry Witherspoon (Eric Gray), a normal suburban guy with one dreary job, looks forward to another empty weekend. Eric Gray’s voice and demeanor were perfectly suited to Witherspoon’s personality, even as he changed from a repressed shoe salesman to a worldly man of Monte Carlo, simultaneously squiring a French showgirl and dog home guardian without blinking an eye. His voice was even throughout his range and his acting demonstrated Witherspoon’s wide-eyed, shy nature. Suddenly, the audience is introduced to the meat of the story, the death of Witherspoon’s “uncle” and the appearance of the wheelchair-bound corpse accompanied by tape-recorded instructions and a heart-shaped box. Witherspoon, battling for custody of the money, is forced to cooperate with the terms of the will, which include taking the stiff on a tour of Monte Carlo. Of course, the road to and through Monte Carlo is crowded with warring siblings Rita (Dana Brown) and Vinnie, the mustachioed Luigi Gaudi (Derek Lebzelter), and unassuming Annabel Glick (Alissa Barth), head of the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn, a charity with a stake in the will. The audience first met the hysterical Dana Brown as she crept through the seats handling a small pistol, which she then used to summarily dispatch her lover, Tony Hendon (Matt Hathorn), who was then held captive in a wheelchair for the rest of the show. Brown’s edgy voice and exuberant acting resulted in a frenetic performance that she was, amazingly, able to sustain throughout the two hours. Her interactions with her pushover brother were shrill and stereotypically brattish, but entertaining all the same. In a satirical mode, Barth conveyed Glick’s character as Witherspoon’s female equal in every way, her drab personality accented by dowdy coats and dresses. Barth and Gray matched each other well in duets such as “Dogs Versus You,” and “Nice,” with harmonies that blended well and unisons that were easy on the ear. Their fate was anticipated but it was still fun to wait for the fireworks. Although the plot was predictable in every way, the antics of the supporting cast kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Capping this wildness was Jeff Stover, playing a bare-chested French Emcee turned friendly dog in “Monte Carlo” and “Times Like This.” At every turn, he was raucously funny and endearing, earning several minutes of applause and laughter in the end. Audience interaction and unpredictable antics were part and parcel of this production. When the stiff disappeared in Act II, cast members descended into the audience in a mad search. Fingers were pointed in the face of unassuming parents and friends of the cast who occupied the front rows of the chapel. Some characters ascended the stage from the audience and when they weren’t talking directly to their cast mates, they addressed the audience, as if to draw them into the unfolding drama. Lucky Stiff was a creatively conceived and well-carried out production. The audience was quickly drawn into the stage mischief of this diverse cast of characters, and people have to respect someone who would jump out of bed, on stage, attired only in yellow Joe Boxers complete with smiley face and protruding tongue. |