EAST HADDAM — “My One and Only” at the Goodspeed Opera House brings the art of tap dancing to a whole new level.
If you can sit through the entire performance without starting to tap your feet yourself, you might want to make sure you’re still breathing. The dancing is infectious, with fabulous choreography by Kelli Barclay.
This stellar, gifted, and energetic cast is lead by the superlative Tony Yazbeck as the country bumpkin flyboy Captain Billy Buck Chandler.
He is trying to become as famous as Columbus, only in reverse, by being the first man to fly from the U.S. to Paris. Set in 1927, but actually created in 1983, there is some raunchy language that isn’t horrible, but feels a little gratuitous in this vaudevillian style show.
Tommy Tune originally played Chandler in the show on Broadway in 1983 with Twiggy as his co-star.
Chandler falls in love with Edythe Herbert, played with pixie perkiness by Gabrielle Ruiz.
Her manager, the womanizing Prince Nikki (played with a Boris Badenov comic touch by Khris Lewin), says Edythe is the third woman to swim across the English Channel, but the first good-looking one. Ruiz’s character is supposedly from England, but her accent is more the exception than the rule.
Chandler gets sidetracked from his mission of being the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo because of true love.
He tries to learn to become more sophisticated, with the help of Mr. Magix, played by the indomitable talent, Alde Lewis Jr., who played the same role when this show ran on Broadway.
Lewis is remarkable in the old school style of tap. And when Lewis as Mr. Magix and Yazbeck as Chandler go at it in a tap dancing toe-to-toe at the beginning of Act Two, well, it is simply tap dancing heaven.
Also delightful and spirited is Trent Armand Kendall as the holy-roller Rev. J.D. Montgomery, who brings a new meaning to the term “Black Irish” in a delicious cameo as Mrs. O’Malley.
Kirsten Wyatt makes every moment count as the mechanic with a secret, Mickey.
Coming in dead even with the dancing, as far as fabulous is concerned, are the spiffy songs by those inimitable brothers, George and Ira Gershwin.
The musical is a showcase for some of their most memorable tunes, including “He Loves & She Loves,” “Funny Face,” and the whimsical “S’Wonderful.”
As usual, the costumes at the Goodspeed, this time by Robin L. McGee, are as numerous as they are festive and stunningly detailed. There are more top hats, tuxes, tails, vests, spats, and canes than you can shake a feather at, and plenty of 1920s flapper gowns with sparkling fringe, dramatic bathing suits, and even belly dancing outfits.
I still don’t know how they manage some of those split-second costume changes, but the choreography back stage must be as interesting as it is on stage at times.
The youthful ensemble cast tapping again and again in unison is simply irresistible.
This is a show that goes all out and over the top to please, and boy oh boy, do they ever succeed.
And what a treat to have scenes from an old Rudolph Valentino silent movie, that they call “White Baggage of the Casbah,” projected onto the backdrop. A terrific idea that adds even more life to this lively show. Also a clever touch is the flying plane aided by umbrellas that just has to be seen to be believed.
The music, the dancing, the set, the costumes, they all add up to another “s’wonderful” slam-dunk musical treat at the consistently “s’marvelous” Goodspeed Opera House.
Stage review
4 stars
"My One and Only"
Theater: Goodspeed Opera House
Location: 6 Main St., East Haddam.
Production: Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. Book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer. Directed by Ray Roderick. Choreography by Kelli Barclay. Set design by James Youmans. Music direction by Michael O’Flaherty. Costume design by Robin L. McGee. Lighting design by Paul Miller. Production design by Michael Clark. Sound by Jay Hilton.
Running time: 2½ hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show times: Wednesday, Sunday, and selected Thursday matinees at 2 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 3 p.m., and selected Sundays at 6:30 p.m. through June 25.
Tickets: $28-$72. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their website at: www.goodspeed.org.
Actor.................CHARACTER
Tony Yazbeck ..… Capt. Billy Buck Chandler
Gabrielle Ruiz .....................… Edythe Herbert
Trent Armand Kendall ........................ Rev. J.D. Montgomery
Khris Lewin .......… Prince Nicholai, Achmed
Alde Lewis Jr. …............................... Mr. Magix
Kirsten Wyatt ….................................... Mickey
4 stars Excellent ; 3 stars Good; 2 stars Fair; 1 star Poor
photos from Goodspeed Opera House
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