Reviewed
by Claudia Perry
Bowing
this weekend at the Act II Playhouse is the very funny two person musical comedy, "Pete
'n' Keely"
with a Book by James Hindman, Original Music by Patrick Brady and Original Lyrics by Mark
Waldrop.
This
send-up of a fictional 1968 live network TV reunion of "America's Swinging
Sweethearts" made me laugh from beginning to end. But it will only seem
funny to those who know the acts that Mr. Hindman is spoofing, i.e., Steve
& Edie, Sonny & Cher and Lucy & Desi. There aren't husband and wife
acts like this around anymore, so a young crowd probably won't "get
it". And that's a shame because both Denise Whelan and Todd Waddingon are dead on in their takes on
Keely and Pete, respectively. Ms. Whelan exudes the over confidence of the
egotistical superstar, while Mr. Waddington catches just the right amount of
smarmy "I'm so handsome can you stand it?" charm. Both actors deliver
these characterizations without ever going over the line into total camp -
which makes it a delicious balancing act.
The
score is a m_lange of old chestnuts and original book tunes. But it's so well
mixed together that it was hard to pick out the originals. It is also an evening
of mostly music making it a lot of material for two singers to perform and
kudos to this cast for their vocal prowess and wonderfully stylized
performances. Particularly hysterical was "The Cross Country Tour" where just about every city in
America is sung about with its own song. Again, I couldn't tell if all of the
songs contained in this medley were already in existence or whether some were
created expressly for this piece. (A credit to the writing skills of Brady
& Waldrop if indeed some of these were original!)
The
only disconcerting factor of the evening was the sound quality. When Pete and
Keely were on hand held microphones we gratefully heard every word they
uttered. However, when they were being picked up by the ambient mics in the
house, we had to strain to hear some things. And the piano, which was an
extremely small instrument (it didn't look big enough to even be labeled a
"Spinet") sounded as if it were being played under water. These two
strong singers would have been better served by being more supported with a
cushion of sound from the only instrument accompanying them. This is not a
reflection on what the Musical Director Frank de Monaco was playing, but rather the
degree, level and volume that he was playing at.
I
do not know if the original show has the accompanist, Del (Frank de Monaco) and
the sound person, Marty, as actual characters or if they were added to this
particular production. The sound man (William Horton) looked great in his
headphones and long hair in his well lit sound booth - but he seemed to be
sorely underused. However, the piece directed by Ken Marini does move along at a good fast
clip and never seems to let you down. Showing her versatility, Denise Whelan also did the choreography for
the evening, and the dance moves she created which were both clever and
playful, added a lot of zing to the overall production.
If
the sound problem can be addressed, perhaps this show will "have
legs" and be reprised at a later date or picked up and moved to another
location as the terrific, "Big Bang" did not so long ago. Anyway,
here's hoping.