Reviewed
by Claudia Perry
Based
on the hit play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, "Windy City" has blown into the Walnut
Street Theatre
until October 22nd . Over the years "The Front Page" has had many incarnations
from its original 1928 Broadway production to the 1940 film "His Girl
Friday", starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, (In this version,
director Howard Hawks had the Walter Burns role rewritten for a woman and
played by Rosalind Russell.) to the 1974 Billy Wilder movie, "The Front
Page", with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon. In 1982 "Windy City"
premiered in London's West End.
Hildy
Johnson, hard bitten reporter for the Chicago Examiner, has a new fiance and
wants to start a new life writing for the movie business. But first he has to
leave his scheming editor, Walter Burns. On Hildy's day of departure, convicted
murderer Earl Williams escapes from police custody and lands right in the
Examiner's Press Room. Hildy puts off his fiance and works feverishly to scoop
this one last sensational story before boarding the train for the West Coast.
For
this particular revised production, composer Tony Macaulay was on hand at all rehearsals to
help with the creative process. Mr. Macaulay is best known as a popular
songwriter having sold 52 million records worldwide. His most famous songs
being "Build Me Up, Buttercup", "Don't Give Up On Us
Baby" and "Love
Grows" (Where My Rosemary Goes)
The
score for "Windy City" is quite melodic and likable. Mr. Macaulay
knows how to write good tunes, a standout being, "Wait Till I Get You On
Your Own". Unfortunately, most of the songs don't sound as if they come
from 1929, when the play is supposed to take place except for "Water
Under the Bridge" which has a great bluesy feel. Perhaps with more authentic
arrangements and a "Vaudeville" orchestra (which is what was popular
in the 1920's -- a real piano, bass, drums, trumpet, saxophone and violin) this
is easily fixed. Apparently, there were three keyboards in the pit which tended
to drown out the horns giving the score a modern feel.
The
book by Dick Vosburgh sticks to the original play with only a few exceptions. It has a lot
of grit and a lot of great laugh lines. But many times it drops the ball for
yet another unnecessary group number. We only need to see one chorus number
with the crusty newsmen of the Chicago Examiner to establish who they are and
where we are. Or, we need to see Hildy singing with the boys in the press room.
Because what we really need to see is more of Hildy on stage. He's our leading
man; we like him and we want to see more of him. Again, this is something that
is easily fixed for on the whole the play and the evening eventually come
together in a satisfying way.
Although
the choreography is delightful, Director/Choreographer Marc Robin makes some choices that are
puzzling. If Hildy is indeed the kingpin of reporters, the top dog, as it were,
then why does he enter the scene in a white suit (looking like a Hollywood
movie star and not a grungy reporter) and proceed to dance on the press desk
making him look more like Fred Astaire and less like say, William Powell? Just
because David Elder (who is terrific as Hildy) is a great dancer and can do crowd
pleasing chair tricks is no reason to give him a number that completely
undermines his character. Later on in the play we'd be perfectly willing to
accept Hildy dancing with his fiance, or breaking out into an eleventh hour
dance of despair in his jail cell. But the contrast between Mr. Elder's
"Tommy Tune turn" and the chorus of reporters who aren't dancers is
just too drastic. Mr. Elder has to be surrounded by reporters who really dance
to come up to his level or he has to cool his heels and hang with the guys. It
all depends on which way the creative team wants "Windy City" to go
-- as a dance show a la "Dames at Sea" -- or as a more down to earth
musical saga a la "Guys and Dolls".
Also
from a writing standpoint there seem to be some missed opportunities. In the
second act we have a song sung by Bensinger, a completely minor character,
which though very funny, stalls the plot. On the other hand we have Earl Williams,
the escaped prisoner who is vital to the story who never gets to sing a note.
And there are so many places to let Earl sing. He could sing when he's on the
lamb from the law or he could even sing when he's trapped inside the desk. (In
the magic of the theatre the desk could remain closed, but the set could be
turned around to the audience.) Giving Earl a song could still be a comic
moment - but it would be sung by a character we care about.
As
Maury Yeston said in one of his sessions at the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop,
"Everyone is going to tell you how to rewrite your show, even the
doorman!" So pay no never mind to me. But the fact that I can see all
these possibilities means that this show is a worthy one with a lot of
potential. But let's get back to Mr. Elder, our Hildy.
David
Elder is a tall, handsome performer with a great voice and exceptional dancing
ability. He is a very grounded, natural actor which wins over the audience
immediately. He also possesses the right amount of charm and charisma to make
him a great leading man who can really drive a show. (He just needs to be in
the driver's seat more often). Paul Schoeffler has a commanding voice and
presence as the slave driving Managing Editor of the Chicago Examiner, Walter
Burns. Since Burns is the second largest role in the show, it remains a mystery
to me why they chose to put this character in the dark in his first two scenes.
Though Cristin Boyle (Natalie) is a tall, pretty woman with a lovely voice, she possesses
no craft as an actress and therefore we end up hating her character. This is a
shame because she gets to sing the potentially show stopping number, "Red
Hot Honey Like Me". On the other hand Denise Whelan wins over our hearts with her
plaintive songs, "He Never Even Touched Me" and "I Can Talk to
You" as
Molly Malloy, the hooker with the heart of gold. Not only does Ms. Whelan
possess a great vocal instrument, but she's so firmly rooted in her character
that when she sings the notes come from the tips of her toes and progress to
the top of her fiery red hair in one connected line of energy. This energy
shoots out into the audience and makes us feel something for Molly Malloy. We
feel pity for this potentially comic character. We find her touching and tragic
- and these are wonderful moments in the show. As the quirky, mealy mouthed
Earl Williams, Keith Gerchak is simply perfect, garnering a lot of laughs. The ten
reporters in the ensemble were all very good. Of particular note were Curt
Dale Clark as
the jovial McCue, Peter Schmitz as the comically fey Bensinger and Jeffrey Coon as the nasty, gum chewing
Endicott.
Though
the costumes are colorful, they do not look accurate for the period. In the
opening number when the reporters came out wearing modern cut suits, I thought the
authors had updated the time period to modern day. When somebody finally
mentioned that it was 1929, I was still confused as men did not wear colored
dress shirts in the twenties. They wore white shirts, some even with stiff
collars. "But it's a musical!" you say, and "License must be
taken!" Yes, but if we have no point of reference, it makes it hard for
the audience who are seeing the show for the first time and doesn't have a clue
as to what era we are in. This, compounded with the facts that the date was not
announced until later in the show and that the musical arrangements sounded as
if they were from the 70's or the 80's, made it impossible for the audience to
get its bearings. Though Burns and Hildy's suits were correct as were most of
the women's outfits, there seemed to be no uniform concept to bring the entire
costume plot together.
But
the devil is in the details and these can all be corrected the next time
around. As for right now, I'm sure that most people will be entertained by this
show in its current version. It's been mentioned that potential producers are
coming in from New York to see if this show has "legs" and will move
on. With some minor sprucing up i.e., better costumes and arrangements and a
little editing (less group numbers/more Hildy) there's no doubt that this is a
show that will have another life. In its day "The Front Page" was a
hit show and it probably has one of the best closing lines of any comedy. In
his final devious attempt to keep Hildy working for the Examiner, Editor Burns
calls the Chicago police and screams for them to stop the California bound
train that Hildy and his fiance are on and have Hildy arrested. "Why?
Because the son of a bitch stole my watch!"