Date: Fri 24-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Radio-Gals-Cabaret-Stern

Full Text:

(rev "Radio Gals" @Downtown Cabaret Theatre)

Theatre Review--

Cheerful Entertainment With Pirates Of The Air

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT -- The Downtown Cabaret Theatre has always been one of my favorite

places to go as a social outing. People from all walks of life, from up and

down the coast and the county, show up with their coolers, their tote bags and

wicker baskets, staking out their picnic at the tables surrounding the stage,

champagne and Brie rubbing elbows with pizza and beer. Every seat in the house

is a good one, and with the new comfortable chairs funded by last year's

makeover grant, that takes on added meaning.

The theatre's current production, a musical comedy called Radio Gals , is not

exactly of the first rank, but it does serve as a vehicle for a group of

talented and enthusiastic performers, who can sing and play far better than

Mike Craver and Mark Hardwick (the show's creators) can write comedy.

The premise is that Arkansas music teacher Hazel C. Hunt, presented with a

100-watt electric radio transmitter as a retirement gift, installs it in her

livingroom and begins broadcasting as radio station WGAL. She roams the

airwaves in search of empty space, entertaining listeners from Canada to

Mexico with a hokey mix of local farm gossip and lively music by her quintet

of singer-musicians, The Hazelnuts.

When Federal Radio Inspector O.B. Abbott arrives, sent by Commerce Secretary

Herbert Hoover (this is the 1920s) to investigate charges of airwave piracy,

he succumbs to the charms of the flapper-spiritualist-astrology forecaster

Gladys Fritt. Instead of hauling them all off to jail, he joins the group and

elopes with Gladys on his motorcycle.

All of this is strung together with a few dozen musical numbers, played with

delightful pizazz by the company. Musical director Emily Mikesell, who plays

fiddle, saxophone, flute and clarinet, is outstanding, as is drummer Klea

Blackhurst.

For some reason, the bass and piano playing Swindell sisters are played by men

in drag. They play and sing well but the effect is unclear. Tony Curtis and

Jack Lemmon had a reason for doing this in Some Like it Hot -- they were

running away from gangsters. Apparently the Swindell sisters were suffragists,

a group which Inspector Abbott considers subversive. Anyhow, Tom Kenaston and

Sam McPherson do their job, but it seems over the top.

Still, it's all cheerful entertainment and a pleasant way to while away a

Sunday evening and still be home in time for "Masterpiece Theater."

(Interested in seeing the musical comedy for yourself? Radio Gals continues

through May 3 at Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street in

Bridgeport. Call 576-1636 for show times and ticket prices.)