Saw the national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last night in Boston at the Opera House. I really enjoyed this show when I saw it on Broadway. So I was looking forward to seeing the tour to see how it compared.
This touring production shut down at the end of last year to slim down, both in the size of the set (to save on transport costs) and the pay scale for the cast. The cost-cutting was readily apparent in the look and feel of the show. The set was spare and shaky, and even after only two months on tour the pieces were showing noticeable wear. The orchestra was a very sketchy nine people, with the conductor doubling as percussion. The sound wasn't noticeably thin, though.
For the tour, composer/lyricist David Yazbek wrote a new opening number, "The Only Game in Town." Perhaps I'm simply partial to the original owing to repeated listenings to the OCR, but I didn't see this new number as an improvement. Sure, it's more up-tempo, but the song is tuneless and forgettable. And it didn't really set the scene any more effectively than the original opening, "Give Them What They Want."
As for the performances, Tom Hewitt as Lawrence Jameson kept reminding me of Frank N. Furter, which of course he played in the recent Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He was professional, but not in the same league as John Lithgow. At first, he seemed to be pushing too hard for laughs, which is exactly how not to get them. And his various accents (German, Castillian, etc.) were spotty and inconsistent.
D. B. Bonds played the pivotal role of Freddy Benson quite effectively. I might have been more impressed had I not seen Norbert Leo Butz. Bonds certainly tried to make the part his own, and brought lots of energy and presence to the role. But overall he was merely serviceable. Laura Marie Duncan as Christine was sweet and fresh when she needed to be, but she made the necessary transition quite nicely. A very enjoyable performance. Also charming were Drew McVety as Andre and Kim Shriver as Muriel, the wonderfully comic couple a certain age.
The main hole in the cast was Paige Pardy as Jolene, the Oklahoma heiress. Pardy was over-the-top and embarrassingly LCD in her approach to humor, if you can call it that. Yeah, she's supposed to be a little rough around the edges, but Pardy's performance was forced and amateurish. She had all the subtlety of a Hee Haw rerun.
In fact, I have to say the whole show was showing its seams. It wasn't nearly as funny or fresh as how I remember the Broadway production. And somehow I don't remember the original being quite this crass. Even the good jokes got lost in the cavernous Opera House. During the first act the laughter was scant and scattered, although things warmed up a bit in Act 2.
But I still think it's a worthy show, effectively told, with an engaging and effective score. The show will no doubt have a considerable afterlife in regional and community theater.
Chris, any thoughts, if you saw it, on "At Swim, Two Boys"? or the show that's playing at the Boston Conservatory this weekend (sorry, can't remember the name)?
-- Steve
Posted by: Steve | March 09, 2007 at 05:13 PM
Didn't see At Swim. A few of my students were in it, and they intimated that it was an earnest attempt, but still needed work. The show at BoCo was Heaven and Hell, based on a Joe Jackson album. Didn't get to see it because of my NY trip (see my reviews of Pirate Queen and Curtains). --CC
Posted by: Chris Caggiano | March 11, 2007 at 10:00 PM