Date: Fri 05-Sep-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHIRLE

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Taffetas-Downtown-Cabaret

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(rev "The Taffetas" @Downtown Cabaret Thatre, 9/5/97)

Theatre Review-

Familiarity Breeds Contentment

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT - The first act opens with "Sh-Boom Sh-Boom" and moves into "Mr

Sandman (bring me a dream...)" and "Tonight You Belong To Me," but it wasn't

until the Taffetas began singing "(I don't want a...) ricochet romance..."

that the audience began standing up and clapping in time, at a recent

performance of Downtown Cabaret Theatre's latest foray into musical nostalgia,

The Taffetas .

Loosely modeled on the McGuire Sisters, the Taffetas are four squeaky clean

little women from Muncie, Ind., making their New York debut on the Dumont

Television Theater's "Spotlight On Music." Kaye, Cheryl, Peggy and Donna, who

do their own hair and wear taffeta dresses in complementary colors made by

their Mom, are hoping this 90-minute concert of hits by such Fifties icons as

Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Shore, Pat Boone, Dean Martin and Johnny

Ray will propel them to a level of stardom above and beyond the Muncie Ball

Jar Festival (although they are "very proud" to be a part of that).

This idea has been done before at Bridgeport, most recently in Bee Hive's

evocation of the Sixties, in which the big-haired girls who were the Taffetas'

role models were gradually transformed by the winds of change that blew in

with the Women's Liberation movement and the infusion of soul brought about by

the integration of pop music. There are also echoes of Forever Plaid , a time

capsule tribute to small town nerds singing harmony in their basements.

The Taffetas , a bit of fluff conceived by Rick Lewis, is less interesting

than either of those shows. Bee Hive had more intellectual content, and Plaid

was funnier in part because of comic routines like the distillation of a

complete Ed Sullivan evening into a two-minute riff, and also because

individual characterizations were sharper.

The Maids from Muncie, whose cultural vapidity is epitomized by their

unanimous choice of Mamie Eisenhower as their most admired woman from history

(as well as their favorite pastimes, e.g. painting by numbers and practicing

canasta), are too unimaginative to either be witty or grow wise.

However, that said, the point of this particular show is the songs themselves.

There are 45 all together, some strung together into medleys ("The Happy

Wanderer" segues into fragments of "Constantinople," "My Little Grass Shack,"

"C'est si Bon" and "Arrivederci Roma"), while others are allowed to stand on

their own. Of the latter, the standouts were a rendition of "Mockin' Bird

Hill" in the first act, and "Sincerely," in the second.

All four of the principals have good voices, especially Jodie Langel and

Meghan Duffy, whose solo rendition of "Where the Boys Are" invests a second

rate song with serious power.

It helps to recognize the songs, of course. I can't imagine that a youthful

audience would be blown away by this production, but sometimes familiarity

breeds contentment, and the audience in this case was obviously very glad they

came.

The Taffetas will continue through November 2 at Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263

Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport. Performances are Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at

5:30 and 8:30; and Sunday at 5:30. Tickets begin at $19.50 and run to $23.

Call DCT's box office for reservations, at 576-1636.