Review: Acting their age? Hardly
| Thursday, Nov 03 2011 10:45 AM
Last Updated Thursday, Nov 03 2011 11:49 AM
'Wrinkles'
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Harvey Auditorium, 14th and G streets
Admission: $20
Information: 325-6100
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Randy Jelmini, president of Bakersfield Music Theatre, blows his horn in "Wrinkles." The show's final performance is Sunday.
Talk about troupers -- the cast of "Wrinkles" could outdo performers half their age. And that's saying a lot when you consider the folks in the Bakersfield Music Theatre production range from 55 to 86.
The matinee performance I saw Sunday at Harvey Auditorium was well-produced and surprisingly fast-paced given the 52 songs from about 25 different Broadway musicals that were sung. True, a couple of performances could have used a bit more polish but those were few and far between and in no way diminished the show as a whole.
Overall, there's a good balance between pathos and comedy, song and dance routines, as well as several longer scenes that showcase the skills of some fine actors.
Among its strong points are the extraordinary number of outstanding singers, including Kathleen Schaffer, Sara Takii, Melinda Mejia, Joy Wright, Marilyn Daughtery, Mike James, Michael Hayward, Michael Izquierdo and Robert Schwartz. Each has a distinctive voice and presented meaningful interpretations of the songs they sang.
An original show, "Wrinkles" takes place in The Twilight Home for Aging Thespians, where the residents decide to get together to put on a musical revue. It was inspired by a similar format done in Fresno in June.
In the BMT production, four emcees -- Dan Schaffer, Hank Webb, Jim Fillbrandt and Norman Maes -- link the scenes together and also pitch a fistful of one-liners as they drift on and off stage.
Most of the jokes, and even the parodies of a few songs, target the actors on stage as well as the mainly over-60 theater-goers. Here's an example, courtesy of Fillbrandt: "I knew the romance was over when I drank champagne out of her slipper and choked on the Dr. Scholls' inserts."
Irrepressible Bryan Kelly, wearing a variety of fanciful headgear, provides comic relief as he swaggers in and around the stage. He appears as a drunken professor and, clutching his ever-present flask, spouts phrases Shakespeare might have written but thankfully never did.
Among the scenes I especially enjoyed were Bill Ryan's dynamic reprise of Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof," a role he's done before on the Harvey stage; Dan Marble's portrayal of the wily Fagan from "Oliver"; and the comical yet poignant scene from "My Fair Lady," done by Kathleen Shaffer, whose voice is as glorious as ever, and her husband, Dan Schaffer.
A gorgeously costumed dancing trio made up of Virginia Lenneman, Karen DeWalt and Ruth Goertz doing a piece from "Gypsy" was a crowd-pleaser, as was a well-matched quartet wearing nuns' habits that included Eunice Sears, Rene Cleek, Beverly Ragsdale and Melinda Mejia.
Takii, Wright and Patricia Johnson were standouts in "The Lollipops Medley," clad in pink poodle skirts and saddle shoes as they sang songs from "Hairspray" and other musicals of or inspired by the 1960s.
Also pleasing were the FOGS (Four Old Guys Singing), a tuneful barbershop quartet comprised of Bob Cathaway, Stan Haymaker, Dave Fletcher and Jim Mahoney, who did songs from "The Music Man."
A five-piece band with the super-talented Char Gaines at the piano, did a masterful job of accompanying the singers, switching adroitly from one piece -- and one tempo -- to another.
The show opens with the entire 42-member cast doing an energetic rendition of "Another Opening, Another Show."
In the rousing finale, everyone is again onstage singing and dancing their way through "There's No Business Like Show Business."
Sunday is the third and final performance for "Wrinkles." Even if you're a long way from retirement age, I'm betting you'll enjoy it. How can you not like all those singable, hummable show tunes?
