I have attended shows at the Lonny Chapman / Group Repertory Theatre for many years. Their selections for production are varied and, thankfully, in a way, cater to their supportive fan base.
It's the 51st year of operation for this hearty bunch. The best that can be said about 70. Girls, 70 is that it is wonderfully over the top and corny. The show has an amazing combo featuring musical director Carol Weiss on piano who rocks the show from the overture to the final number. The adorable Barbara Minkus (with whom I once auditioned for a commercial!) plays Ida, a crafty elder who returns to the resident Hotel after a forboding absence. She's got a handle on how to save the hotel from booting the residents: burglary! Why not?
There are plot holes, a romance about sex and the senior citizen and the best song of the lot about what happens when an elephant dies??
Most local theatre reviews are pretty cut and dried. We list the names of the actors and crew. make a comment about the production. Praise or criticize a bit and essentially leave it up to the reader to choose to support the show or not.
This review is about a dream.
The Lonny Chapman dream bubbled up with Lonny's love of Theatre fifty years ago. He had some dough. He had some friends. Mickey and Judy putting on a show in a barn? Whatever it was, it was a tribute to the foundations of what our artform contributes to the community and to the world. A couple of hours in the dark: suspending our belief!
Sevety Girls is a silly romp with ..as Artistic Director, Doug Haverty, says in his unfortunate curtain speech (he plays Harry in the show) there's a total of 833 years of life on the planet on the stage. The elderest of the elders, Fae DeWitt, must be about a hundred (okay, she's only 91) and her baritone quips alone, as she is guided glacially on and off stage is worth the price of admission alone.
These stalwart Thespians are having the time of their lives. It's over done and silly and the 21st Century Nairobi Trio with Carol Weiss on the upright is wonderful. I don't use that term often in a review.
The true wonder is that this tribute to the "tea time of life??" through gang activity, drugs and drag in pursuit of burglary to achieve a goal for the love of one another .. if you totally abandon disbelief all togther? It works!
"By any means necessary!" One hole that I wish the text would cover.. spoiler alert.. is if someone knows they are not long for the world, why wouldn't they take out a million dollar insurance policy so that that dough could purchase the hotel and the friggin' coffee shop to save the gang?
If you are within driving distance to the Group Repertory Theatre and have time for two rather long acts and getting home way late.. shaking your head at the energy of this band of dyed in the wool Theatre Folks, please go. Tell them I sent you. Try to NOT sit behind a really tall guy sitting in the front row and rise at the over long curtain call and Applaud like Anything for the cast and the crew and the Memory of Lonny Chapman whose vision and energy continues on Burbank Boulevard.
** I did not realize that today is the last day of the show and am so in love with this review so far, that I'm leaving it all in..
To GRT members. Find a way to get more youthful energy like the Babe, Danica Waitley, in this show into your membership. Fantasic tap dancing and the energy that is vital to Theatre. Notwithstanding that you are essentially a Community Theatre, sticking to entertaining stuff is okay. You don't need to bring Beckett and a stick to the stage often.. but Well Staged and enjoyable productions will keep the doors open and the Bums in the seats and hopefully for Fifty More Years of engaging the Community with the Essence of Art. New Blood and Comfortable Entertainment! Yes..
Applause..
