Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

Goodspeed-Redhead-Stern

Full Text:

(rev "Redhead" @Goodspeed Opera House)

Theatre Review-- Fun That Could Be Enjoyed All Afternoon At Goodspeed

(with cut)

By Julie Stern

EAST HADDAM -- The gingerbread charm of the Goodspeed Opera House, nestled on

the bank of the Connecticut River at East Haddam, is a lovely place to go for

light, fluffy entertainment, exemplified in the period piece re-creation

Redhead, which won Tony Awards for Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse back in 1959.

A murder-mystery that takes place in turn-of-the-century London, the show

makes the most of its Victorian settings, from the lurid wax museum to the

garish music hall, the seedy pub, the fog shrouded back streets and a jail

that comes straight out of Brecht's Three Penny Opera.

Indeed there is considerable borrowing going on, in this tale of a

love-starved artist for the wax museum who pretends to have been attacked by

the notorious London Strangler in order to win the attention of a handsome

American actor. From Essie Whimple's maiden aunts -- the Simpson sisters, who

operate the museum of macabre horrors where Essie constructs the exhibits (and

who bear more than passing resemblance to Mortimer Brewster's aunts in Arsenic

and Old Lace -- to the Brechtian ensemble of prostitutes and street toughs,

the show is a pastiche of the familiar, lovingly redone.

Anyhow, what really matters is the Fosse choreography, which is spirited,

thrilling and absolutely delightful. So are the costumes and the intricately

detailed sets, with their Victorian feel for pattern, stained glass, and heavy

use of color and luminosity. All of these, on a tiny stage like Goodspeed's,

magnify the intensity of the production.

As Essie, in the role created for Gwen Verdon, Cindy Robinson exudes a

wide-eyed breathless sparkle, throwing herself into the role with sass and

vigor. She's a goofy little fool, but clearly she has heart, and if the show

has no underlying significance, nonetheless it's fun to watch.

Timothy Warmen plays the leading man, whose "act" apparently consists of

lifting 400 pounds while singing "Figaro." He has a toothy grin and a lot of

slick blond hair that makes him look like a young Peter Lawford. Mostly he

stands around being a Yank (in contrast to the Cockney Londoners).

Marilyn Cooper and Carol Morley were right comical as the practical minded

maiden aunts, but what I really liked was the Ensemble -- a company of 16

policemen/hookers/museumgoers/ music hall performers/ ordinary Londoners and

so forth. I could have watched them all afternoon.