June 2010 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
Sugar
So the country is out of work, you're an unemployed musician and you've got a bloodthirsty band of Chicago thugs trying to kill you because you wandered into the wrong garage at the wrong time. Solution? Put on a dress and join an all-girl band on their way to sunny Florida. This scenario of Drury Lane Oakbrook's current musical farce "Sugar" will be familiar to anyone who loves "Some Like it Hot," easily one of the funniest film comedies of all time which is also the basis for this 1972 musical. Add to it a terrific score by Broadway stalwarts Jule Styne and Bob Merrill and you have an irresistible comedic confection perfect for the summer or any other time for that matter.
"Sugar" has always been a delicious treat for me. The last time it appeared in the Chicagoland area was at the Rosemont Theatre when an elderly and ill-equipped Tony Curtis traded his wig and corset for the naughty old millionaire's yacht. Drury Lane needs no big name has-been though to provide a most delightful and melodic toe-tapper of a musical comedy. It does have Jim Corti as Director and Choreographer, and Corti is one of the best talents Chicago theatre has to offer. He doesn't even try to put the beloved 1959 film on stage. Instead, Corti streamlines Peter Stone's occasionally bloated stage adaptation of Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's nearly perfect screenplay and dresses it up in style and even heart.
Corti
realizes this is not "La Cage aux Folles," and much of the
humor of watching musicians Joe (Rod Thomas) and Jerry (Alan
Schmuckler) becoming Josephine and Daphne is that they are both
red-blooded heterosexual guys forced to wear drag out of life
threatening desperation. The lanky Thomas and diminutive
Schmuckler really are a funny sight to behold and their discomfort in
donning feminine apparel is classic farce at its best. And they
are buttressed by a sensational score played by Music Director Ben
Johnson's sizzling orchestra. Listen to the brassy overture and
you will be instantly transported to Broadway at its best. This
is Jule Styne after all, the composer of no less than
"Gypsy," "Funny Girl" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".
All human beings have that inherent need to give and receive love, and after all "nobody's perfect". Joe and Jerry take on their feminine personas initially to escape the Mafia. They maintain the charade because they have nothing else to fall back on and because Joe falls for the sweet but dumb lead singer Sugar Kane. Sugar has been jilted by male musicians before, so Joe takes on yet another disguise as a millionaire playboy with his own romantic dilemma. Jerry meanwhile finds himself on the other end of the chase as the object of attraction of a real, elderly millionaire. Will Sugar finally find her sweet end of the lollipop or just another squeezed out tube of toothpaste?
The answer to that cinematic question has been delighting audiences for half a century. Thankfully Corti and company have a fresh and flavorful take on the old gender swap farce to keep Drury Lane audiences smiling happily. Among Corti's revisions include the addition of a nice solo dance for the title character and a sound stage motif that pays tribute to the film's origins. Those dreaded Chicago mobsters have less of a presence here, and the Spats Palazzo character, memorably etched on film by George Raft, is reduced to little more than a walk-on by Norm Boucher here. Given Corti's background in dance, his omission of Spats' tap specialty is surprising although not detrimental. The focus here is the unusual love story.
Luscious Jennifer Knox brings enormous heart and vulnerability to Sugar, allowing us to actually care for her as a person and not just a sex toy. Thomas and Schmuckler both make some fresh and appealing choices as our hapless incognito musicians, Schmuckler's masculine defenses adorably melting as he fights for his own survival and security. The beautiful Tammy Mader and the reliable Stef Tovar are both on hand, albeit in supporting roles that barely hint at their considerable talents. Joe D. Lauck is a most genial and gentlemanly Osgood, proving that even naughty old men need love. "Sugar" gives us a heaping helping of love, laughs and fabulous tunes. In the words of Gershwin, "Who could ask for anything more"?
"Sugar" plays through August 1, 2010 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook IL. The show runs a fast-paced two hours with intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 1 :30 p.m., Thursdays at 1:30 and 8 p.m., Fridays at 8:30 p.m., Saturdays at 5 and 8:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 and 6 p.m. Ticket prices range from $31 to $45. Dinner and lunch packages range from $45.75 to $68. Students and Seniors can purchase tickets at a discount. Students tickets start at $19 and Seniors $27. Call 630-530-0111 or Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www.drurylaneoakbrook.com.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).