'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks--SF Chronicle
'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks--SF Chronicle
'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks--SF Chronicle#1
Posted: 5/4/07 at 10:55pm
'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks
Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Theater Critic
Friday, May 4, 2007
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Musical. Music and lyrics by David Yazbek. Book by Jeffrey Lane. Directed by Jack O’Brien. (Through May 13. American Musical Theatre of San Jose, San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose. Two hours, 40 minutes. Tickets $13.75-$73. Call 888 455-7469 or visit www.amtsj.org.)
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The con artists are charming, and their comeuppance is delightfully devised in David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane's musical adaptation of the popular film "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." That said, the national touring company of director Jack O'Brien's Broadway hit looked and sounded a bit threadbare and wobbly when it opened Tuesday at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
It should be a major coup for American Musical Theatre of San Jose, presenting the exclusive Bay Area premiere of one of the bigger hits (11 Tony nominations) of 2005. But conductor Steven Bishop's small orchestra -- stripped down since the tour began last summer -- sounds thin despite its painful over-amplification. It may be that the company has been on the road too long, or AMTSJ's practice of opening without previews may be at fault, but Tuesday's show was unbalanced in every aspect, from its sound mix to its performances.
There's still plenty to enjoy in the comedy of the suave swindler and the bumptious grifter who challenges his monopoly of conning wealthy female tourists in a French Riviera resort. Lane's somewhat erratic book mines most of the funniest incidents and lines from the screenplay by Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. Yazbek, who teamed up with O'Brien on the more successful "The Full Monty," fills his eclectic, buoyant tunes with witty and raunchy lyrics.
Tom Hewitt (the captivating Officer Lockstock in American Conservatory Theater's "Urinetown") is a congenially conceited, smooth and tuneful Lawrence Jameson -- the reigning con artist played by Michael Caine in the movie (John Lithgow on Broadway) -- though his predatory nature has to be taken for granted. A remarkably flexible, energetic, sweet-toned and boyishly irresistible D.B. Bonds eats up the stage as hungry interloper Freddy Benson, the role (Steve Martin on film) for which Norbert Leo Butz won the show's only Tony.
Laura Marie Duncan is appealingly sunny and sings beautifully as the putative detergent heiress who becomes the men's battlefield. Drew McVety, as Lawrence's police chief accomplice, and a sunnily vapid Hollis Resnik are delightfully wistful in the comic supporting romance. The ensemble, brightly arrayed in Gregg Barnes' sexy evening clothes and lingerie, fills out the minor roles as credibly as it executes the sparse if typically energetic and creative choreography of Jerry Mitchell.
O'Brien keeps the scenes flowing smoothly and inventively on David Rockwell's attractive if skimpy revolving and flown-in sets (downsized since Broadway). Too often, though, the performances seem out of sync and the timing off just enough that jokes land flat. The should-be comic "Oklahoma!" spoof is oversold by a frenetic Paige Pardy beyond the point of diminishing returns.
It's hard to understand why the authors replaced the sardonic "Give Them What They Want" opener with the less interesting "The Only Game in Town" for the tour. "Scoundrels" is still a joy at times, particularly in Bonds, Hewitt, Duncan and Resnik's big numbers. But it's not a good sign when a comedy leaves one feeling more wearied than entertained.
DRS
re: 'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks--SF Chronicle#2
Posted: 5/4/07 at 10:59pm
Aw... poor DRS 
...
Too bad, I've got tickets to see the tour twice in June, and hopefully 3 times in December when it comes back.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
re: 'Scoundrels' road show not quite up to its tricks--SF Chronicle#2
Posted: 5/4/07 at 11:02pmWhere are the $13.75 seats? I'd go for that much.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#3
Posted: 5/4/07 at 11:05pm
The Mercury News in San Jose gave it a very good review.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun
NOW SET TO SONG, `SCOUNDRELS' AT AMT IS A BAWDY TREAT
By Karen D'Souza
Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:05/03/2007 01:38:20 AM PDT
It's no scam, folks. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is making its only Bay Area appearance at the Center for the Performing Arts on Almaden Boulevard, brought there by the American Musical Theatre of San Jose.
A cheeky show that rips off a remade movie about a couple of con men (the original was "Bedtime Story" in 1964), "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" rambunctiously bamboozles its way into your good graces.
David Yazbek's clever-meets-bawdy lyrics turn bad taste into a high art. Lowbrow humor gets served up with great panache here as do loads of snarky self-referential asides and deliciously daffy puns and rhymes (like "Oklahoma" and "melanoma") that make up for the bloated running time.
At 2 1/2 hours, "Scoundrels" almost overstays its welcome, but like any good flimflam man, it never lets go of its mark, winning us back big-time with a gangbusters finish that leaves us positively tickled to have been taken for a ride.
The "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" are two hustlers out to swindle society dames out of their fortunes. (In the remake, from 1988, they were played by Steve Martin and Michael Caine; the original starred Marlon Brando and David Niven.) Director Jack O'Brien, composer Yazbek and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (the same creative team behind "The Full Monty") transplanted the story to the brassy environs of Broadway. The snazzy production in San Jose is part of a national tour.
It's always on the make to make you smile. Meet Lawrence (Tom Hewitt in the Niven/Caine role), the preening peacock with the chic suits, the perfect elocution and the unmistakable air of the urbane. He's been working the Riviera scene for years, hopping from one bed to another, padding his portfolio while sipping fine port.
It's all gotten so old hat, though, that he takes on a protege, a lewd, crude American lout named Freddy (D.B. Bonds in the Brando/Martin role), who's as likely to greet a lady by scratching his behind as by kissing her hand.
Enter an American soap heiress (Laura Marie Duncan) to gum up the works. The boys get one gander at her and bet they can beat each other to the punch of pilfering her, ahem, assets.
To a classic double-cross formula, the show adds lots and lots of songs. Some are doozies, such as the faux hip-hop riff "Great Big Stuff," which spoofs the American penchant for empty status symbols (Freddy dreams of buying his own personal Zamboni, not to mention lots of unnecessary plastic surgery), the shamelessly "American Idol"-style power-ballad "Love is My Legs" and the jaunty title number.
Between those showstoppers, the score runs mostly to filler, breezy but forgettable ditties that fade into the background. That's when it's up to the cast to pull off this theatrical heist by the sheer force of personality alone.
Hewitt gives the elder grifter a sense of substance that grounds the show's ultra-cheesy allusions ("If music be the food of love," one woman gushes, "he ate my smorgasbord") and the constant patter of self-conscious in-jokes (she later wonders if she'll be useful in Act 2).
Bonds, meanwhile, revels in the show's late-night-TV-worthy raunchiness. We're talking fart jokes, French-bashing, testicle gags, seriously adolescent sexual innuendo and an out-of-left-field potshot at Gilroy that brought down the house. Oh, yeah, and the president gets his share of mockery as well.
Bonds goes for the gusto in scene after scene of go-for-broke slapstick and leaves you staggered by the depth of his commitment to the shallowest of comedy. As Lawrence notes of Freddy: "What you lack in grace, you certainly make up for in vulgarity."
If there's nothing at the musical's core to tug at the heartstrings, there is a wonderful little subplot, between Andre (Drew McVety), the crooked police chief, and Muriel (Hollis Resnick), the jaded divorce`e jet-setter. When these two indulge in post-coital wordplay, they score big in the romantic comedy department, sweeping us off our feet with oh-so naughty repartee and good old-fashioned chemistry. Call me an easy mark, but whatever they're selling, I'm buying.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'
Mercury News
Book by Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, presented by the American Musical Theatre of San Jose
The upshot: This cheeky musical adaptation of the popular film is always on the make to make you smile.
Where: Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays
Through: May 13
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with one intermission
Mercury News
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#4
Posted: 7/30/07 at 7:46pm
I agree with most of these reviews.
I saw the tour in Kansas City at the outdoor Starlight Theatre. The sets were pretty bad, with many scenes taking place on a bare stage and a distracting blue water backdrop. Lawrence's office was definitely the set's weakest offering.
The lighting was off for a majority of the show, but that probably had something to do with the show being outdoors. Although, for "Chimp in a Suit", McVety was pretty much completely in the dark.
All of the performances were very good, notably Hollis Resnick who sounded 10 times better than Gleason on the recording.
I still don't know why people don't just hate Mitchell's choroeography. I thought it was completely boring and uninspired. It's evident where his heart was that year.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/04
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#5
Posted: 7/30/07 at 10:15pmI saw in on Broadway right before closing, and then caught the tour in Louisville, KY a few months later, and thought both shows were great. They changed the opening number which disapointed me, but Tome Hewitt was excellent.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#6
Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:09pm
I saw it in San Jose and thought it was merely "meh". Though I appreciated the vocal talent of Tom Hewitt and the mugging talent of DB Bonds, I could not, for the life of me, figure out why this show was considered such a hit on Broadway. I realize the sets I saw were not the Broadway ones, but wooden Palm Trees and a plastic veranda to represent Monte Carlo?
Most of the lyrics made me cringe (and I ain't no prude!)...especially a song that Lawrence and Muriel sing on a balcony after spending the night together. One can only sit through so many boob and fart references.
To top it off, I recognized several choreographic moments from the Will Rogers Follies, which Mitchell was a chorus boy in! That really irked me, considering I remembered how much I enjoyed TOMMY TUNE'S choreography in that show.
At the end, my friend and I made the bold move to refuse to stand in ovation like the sheep around us, and merely gave a "meh" in response to the evening.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#7
Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:15pmI love this show, and since I didn't get to catch it on broadway, the tour is my only hope. Hopefully it comes back around again and cleans up a bit so i can catch it!
BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless
SOMMS: I knew it was Tink!
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#9
Posted: 7/31/07 at 1:33am
Casting is underway for the new leg of the tour. Philip Wm. McKinley is directing. They go out in the fall, I believe, and the show is becoming non-eq.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#10
Posted: 7/31/07 at 1:41amWhy does this tour sound like Norma Desmond coming out to get her final close-up in Sunset Blvd.? Some things need to learn how to die. Part of what made Dirty Rotten so good on b'way was how classy it was (or at least looked and sounded). With minimal sets and orchestrations, I can see how the show must be a huge let down after see the Broadway version. I LOVED this show on b'way so this thread makes me very sad.
`Dirty Rotten Scoundrels': good, scandalous fun -SJ Mercury News#11
Posted: 7/31/07 at 2:07amI really enjoyed the show. While the sets did stink, the energy and comedy of the show made up for it. Plus the plot twist at the end was cute!
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