Friday Night Bingo--Spoliers....
Friday Night Bingo--Spoliers....
#0Friday Night Bingo--Spoliers....
Posted: 11/7/05 at 10:16am
St. Luke's Theater is the venue for Bingo, an original new musical, and it couldn't be a more appropriate setting. The audience is part of the captive gamers trapped in the basement during a thunderstorm, replete with breeze effects and a couple of power outages. With free popcorn in hand, I sat with a large group of 8 homos and our token hetero and enjoyed most of the intermissionless show.
The Bingo hall is supervised by Minnie, played by Chevi Colton, in a sweet and completely convincing performance. She doesn't get to do very much, but she seemed like she wouldn't be a bit out of place in your local VFW Hall. The only misstep in her performance was a costume problem: her dry raincoat and bonnet after she siphons gas to power the generator--a minor quibble. She leads the audience through a real game of bingo and the winner takes home $3 and gets a Polaroid on the Winner's Board. The numbers are called by Patrick Ryan Sullivan, who plays Sam/Frank. He's a nice looking guy and gives a solid performance. Our focus, however, goes to the three ladies who venture into the storm to play Bingo, and yes, they are all fanatics, and they play variations on three female archetypes: the rough and gruff leader, Vern, played by Liz McCartney of Taboo fame, the sexy dumb blonde, played by Liz Larsen, and the ditzy kook played by Janet Metz. Of course, I could have easily called them Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose, and still be quite accurate.
The opening number, "Girls' Night Out," is fun, but as with many of the songs, it's a bit redundant and simple. The small electronic orchestra doesn't help either. There are some very cute choreographic moments, thanks to Lisa Stevens. The conflict of the show is set in motion quite early: the girls are wary of traveling in such inclement weather because of a horrible tragedy that occurred on a night just like this one, 15 years ago. The trio arrives late to find their seats taken, but soon settle into the game. A series of flashbacks, set with tongue firmly in cheek, offer Rashomon-like accounts of a card-buying feud that has split the original pack of four ladies.
Each of the three main women gets a chance to shine, and none shines brighter than Janet Mertz as Patsy, the most obsessive and unluckiest of all. She is a ball of energy and totally committed to the show, and her solo was my favorite and the most fully realized number. Liz Larsen is almost as good, and her song, "Gentleman Caller," was a close runner-up to Mertz's. I didn't care for her costume, but again, a minor complaint. Another casting highlight was Klea Blackhurst as Marilyn, the small-town diva who makes a brief but thoroughly delightful appearance. Blackhurst also plays the exiled friend Bernice, with less success and an unfortunate outfit. Liz McCartney, of booming voice and talent, gives the weakest performance in the lead role. I think she has a dilemma as an actress-her physical form belies her character type. She's forced to be masculine, mean, and generally unpleasant, and I don't think that's McCartney's forte. It's too bad that simply because she's a larger lady, she's limited to roles that often require her to be gruff and mannish, but that's another debate. She has a great voice as does Beth Malone as Alison, a mysterious stranger who comes to right an old wrong.
Of course, it's a Scooby Doo mystery as to who she is, given the small cast and she enters with the weakest song in the show, "I've Made Up My Mind," but tries to make up for it by singing the roof off the house.
Another highlight, but totally pointless, is "Ratched's Lament," a number from the new musical Alison is starring in--it's a masterpiece of Broadway spoofery that left all of us helpless with laughter. It is a shame the same wit and style and audacity isn't more present in the other songs.
The show runs about 15 minutes too long for my taste, and is predictable, but it's a fun time! I think a more dramaturgical director and a few weeks of workshoppping could make this show the Einstein of the "Tony n' Tina" set--it's an audience particiaption show with a heart and mind. The emotional spectrum of the show, however, is awfully wide, and I'm not sure I buy it wholesale. It's difficult to do campy and meaningful, and oftimes the show comes across as a Lifetime musical, reaffirming camaraderie and friendships, which is hardly novel.
I do think that regional, college, and community theatres will snap this little rough gem up in a heartbeat, so prepare for many productions once the rights are released. It's alot of fun with a little substance, powerhouse voices and a couple of sparkling performances. And you get cake at the end. What's not to like?
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