Nice Work If You Can Get It is sheer fun. This tuneful show is set during the Prohibition era and is packed with Gershwin classics. This tuneful show will have you leaving the theatre humming for days, the songs that have lasted and will continue to do so. Maybe I wasn’t expecting much, but this show put me in the best mood after seeing it. Is star Matthew Broderick fabulous? No, he phones it in, but Broderick phoning it in is better than most people’s best effort. Kelli O’Hara is a theater star. Though she is not my personal cup of tea, she has a hilarious comic side that leaves you asking for more. The music, dancing, costumes by the coveted Martin Pakledinaz, set by the fabulous Derek McLane, and stellar performances by featured players are all reasons to see Nice Work If You Can Get It.
The script by Joe DiPietro (Memphis), mimics the 1920s musicals, which were always just serviceable, but DiPietro manages some terrific laughs and a comically genius 2nd Act. Act 2 is certainly superior to Act 1. The plot is as follows: Jimmy Winter (Broderick), is a rich playboy about to marry wife number 4. He is celebrating when he and bootlegger Billie Bendix (O’Hara), collide and sparks fly. He tells her he has a Long Island house that he never uses, she needs a place to store booze, so she steals his wallet, but not before they kiss. The rest is complicated and predictable but as we all know the guy gets the girl or is the girl gets the guy. What a shame life is not this simple!
Highlights are: “’S Wonderful,” where Broderick and O’Hara pay tribute to Astaire and Rodgers. Jennifer Laura Thompson, the fiancé, is an Isadora Duncan- like dancer and a Madeline Kahn type. Every time she is on stage, expect to laugh. “Someone to Watch Over Me,” where Ms. O’Hara cradles a gun shows spunk. Michael McGrath shines as one of the bootleggers, as does Judy Kaye, who plays the senator’s temperance suffragette sister. Their duet “By Strauss” and “Sweet and Lowdown” shows what two musical theater veterans can do when given great material. Kaye deserves a Tony for swinging from the chandelier. Last but not least, the seasoned actress Estelle Parsons is a delight for her ten minutes as Broderick’s mother.
Anything Goes director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall proves that she understands how to satisfy an audience. This is a show for people who crave entertainment. If you want substance, read a book.
Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th St.
Cast: Matthew Broderick (Jimmy Winter), Kelli O’Hara (Billie Bendix), Michael McGrath (Cookie McGee), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Eileen Evergreen), Chris Sullivan (Duke Mahoney), Robyn Hurder (Jeannie Muldoon), Stanley Wayne Mathis (Chief Berry), Terry Beaver (Senator Max Evergreen), Judy Kaye (Duchess Estonia Dulworth), and Estelle Parsons (Millicent Winter)
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Posted by Suzanna Bowling
on April 25, 2012. Filed under ENTERTAIMENT,HOME,Theatre.
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