Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman presented THE LIFE, a musical by Cy Coleman, Ira Gasman & David Newman at the Atlantis Playhouse, W. Palm Beach, FL (2004-2005) ... the following is a review published in the Palm Beach Post ...
WALK ON SEAMY SIDE BRINGS OUT BEST IN THEATER
Palm Beach Post, Jun 11, 2004
by HAP ERSTEIN Palm Beach Post Theater Writer
Rating: A-
Who would have thought it would take a show with pimps and prostitutes for the Atlantis Playhouse to go legitimate?
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THE LIFE at the Atlantis Playhouse (2004-2005) Click image for video |
The 2-year-old company that usually produces musical revues and other lightweight fare aimed at the senior market has switched gears - at least as a summer experiment - to present its first Broadway musical. But not just any Broadway musical. Artistic director Gary Waldman reached back to 1997 to the seldom revived The Life, Cy Coleman and Ira Gassman's melodramatic look at the hookers and hustlers of pre-Disney 42nd Street.
Perhaps the show was too downbeat for the Broadway tourist trade, but it inspired a terrific, tuneful, rhythm-and-blues score from Coleman (Little Me, City of Angels). Similarly, it has spurred Waldman to do his best work yet, staging a hard-edged yet potent production, populated by a powerhouse cast, most of whom are making their Atlantis debuts.
It will be interesting to see whether the audience accustomed to this theater's entertainment-rather-than-art philosophy, the escapist crowd that embraced such fare as Snow Birds or Pickles, can be persuaded to try something better, even if it happens to be sordid and seamy.
The rap against the show has been that there are no characters worth caring about and rooting for, but actually the script by composer Coleman, lyricist Gassman and David Newman is quite sympathetic to the plight of the working girls. In the free market economy, they happen to be supplying a much-in-demand commodity and as one defiant number reasons, "It's my body/ And my body/ Is nobody's business but my own."
The villains of the show are the men, who are either violence- prone pimps, drug addicts, two-faced weasels or pornographers. Most of the time when boy meets girl - the traditional territory of the musical theater - it is for him to abuse her, rough her up or send her back out on the streets to ply her trade.
So although The Life begins with an affectionate scene between Queen (Jeanne Lynn Gray), a prostitute up in The Big City from Savannah, and her Vietnam veteran boyfriend Fleetwood (Ben Bagby) making ambitious plans together, expect their happiness to be fleeting. Persuaded by a Machiavellian hustler named JoJo (Dean Swann) to find some new blood, Fleetwood discovers nubile Mary (Elizabeth King) arriving by bus from Minnesota and woos her into "the life."
Of course, there is instant animosity between Queen and Mary. The former leaves Fleetwood in a jealous rage and aligns herself with Memphis (Carl Barber-Steele), a truly nasty pimp. When she realizes what she has done, Queen tries to get out of town, helped by Sonja (Nadeen Holloway), a veteran hooker who has seen it all and knows that such attempts at escape usually end in bloodshed.
In a score full of full-throttle showstoppers, nearly everyone gets a bravura solo. Gray anchors the cast, scoring with her intense vibrato on We Had A Dream. She is well matched by Bagby, even if Queen has no future with Fleetwood, and Bagby oils his way through the mercenary A Piece of the Action.
Barber-Steele has a steely presence and an intimidating bass voice, which makes a rule-setting number such as My Way or the Highway all the more chilling. Holloway brings down the house with the sly lament (I'm Getting Too Old For) The Oldest Profession. And although King is not entirely convincing when Mary has to show her less naive side, she sells the bouncy Easy Money nicely.
Matthew Decker's set is every bit as grimy and dark as the show is, a compliment of sorts. The Life is not for those who think the word musical should always be followed by comedy, but the Atlantis has set a new level of production quality with the kind of material it should pursue more often.
REVIEW
The Life
A-
Where: Atlantis Playhouse, 5893 S. Congress Ave., Atlantis.
When: Through July 11.
Tickets: $26.50-$29. Call: 304-3212.
The verdict: A sordid musical look at seamy pre-Disney 42nd Street, with a cast that knows how to sell it.
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