The North Shore presentation of "Pacific Overtures" was the climax of a rather ambitious summer of musical theatre in these parts, which included Gloucester's "Jaques Brel..." and the Company's "Ragtime." Stoneham's "Pete 'n' Keeley" is the first of a fall season of less distinguished entertainments, with Howard Crabtree's "When Pigs Fly" at the Lyric following right behind, not to mention "Ain't Misbehavin'" at the Huntington. But first things first.
"Pete 'n' Keeley" had a brief tryout at City Stage in Springfield MA, just before its scheduled off-Broadway run in Dec. 2000, for which Sally Mayes got a Drama Desk nomination. This pastiche by James Hindman is tailored for low-budget small theater production. The two main characters, a divorced duo of songsters from the age of live TV variety, can be played by singers of average ability capable of over-selling songs as well as over-acting most of the time. The only other visible members of the cast are the band leader/announcer and at least two mute over-worked stage hands, plus the five chair band. Since the premise is that the two performers are doing a reunion TV special to bolster sagging solo careers and the action occurs onstage during said show, additional crew members could be used for comic effect, not to mention the offstage announcer. This script will probably be around as long as audiences remember live television variety and the song stylists endemic to the genre, which may be forever if PBS and PAX keep showing compilations thereof
In this current production, Christopher Chew and Kathy St. George are more than up to the task. They're both in the prime of local musical theatre careers. St. George got an IRNE for the lead in "Das Barbecu", and had a long run here and on tour in "I Love You, You're Perfect,..". She also got raves at the end of last season for her work in Speakeasy's "Ruthless." Chew most recently played George in Lyric's award-winning "Sunday in the Park", the agent in their "Sideshow" and Marc Blizstein in their "It's All True,". Both performers also have the knack of sending up a style while making the audience appreciate the skill required to be so good at being bad. Moreover, St. George is a Stoneham native, current resident, and a former local elementary school teacher--before she ran off to NY and wound up the youngest daughter in "Fiddler" both on Broadway and on tour. Chew, also a former music teacher and currently head of Stoneham's successful youth programs, has more recent local connections. Which means that they can play off friends in the audience when required by the show's formula, enhancing the studio audience premise.
As for the show, workmanlike is the best description. Patrick Brady and Mark Waldrop's original music and lyrics capture the banality of most special material written for such TV shows. Their "Tony 'n' Cleo" segment, which opens Act II, supposedly from Pete and Keeley's Broadway flop--based on Shakespeare--may be too accurate. The joke wears out before the music ends. However, the jazz reworking of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" had the audience in stitches. Of the standards used, St. George's Garlandesque "Black Coffee" is a showstopper while Chew's Vegas-inspired "Fever" goes over the top. Shortly thereafter he pulled off a duo version of "Lover Come Back..." solo after Keeley stalked off the stage. Both performers had strong support from music director, Timothy Evans, stage right at the keyboard. He's done several shows for Stoneham, including the "Much Ado about Broadway" revues which St. George does with Bobbi Steinbach and Robert Saoud.
This being a musical comedy disguised as a parody, the show ends with the implication that the duo may get back together personally and well as professionally because what they do really works best that way, and they might even still be in love. St. George and Chew make this believable, with the audience's help, of course. If ancient comedy ends with a wedding, the modern equivalent ends with reunion, even temporarily.
Stoneham's next musical venture, before their big "Christmas Carol" crowd-pleaser, in which Chew and St. George play the Cratchit's, is a world premiere of Jeremy Denson's "The Girl in the Frame." Desmon, a Tisch graduate, currently handles musical submissions for the Manhattan Theatre Club. This will be a real test of his own efforts. Weylin Symes, Stoneham's Artistic Director is directing this two weekend outing as part of the theatre's Emerging Stages series. Last year, this program produced Erba's "Marathon" which played in Stoneham, was redone in NYC, and returned here for a rerun downtown during the Boston Marathon. This organization's not content with merely being a refurbished movie house in the suburbs. "Pete 'n' Keeley" will be followed by another duo show, Marie Jones' "Stones in His Pockets", a joint production with Gloucester Stage which plays there for three weeks before moving west. The play will feature some of Sugan's finest. Ciaran Crawford and Derry Woodhouse, and may erase the disappointment of the touring version with Bronson Pinchot which crept in and out of Boston last year.