Sister Act Offers Perfect Harmony
Hardly. Michele Ragusa and Kelly Briscoe are the Barry sisters. Not literally, of course, but they're as close to the real thing as you will probably ever get.
And as for that weary word, nostalgia, Perfect Harmony has no time for that. It's too vibrant, too alive, too electrifying. There's no need to go wandering off into the land of long ago.
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| "PERFECT HARMONY - The Barry Sisters Story" Pictured: Kelly Briscoe & Michelle Ragusa |
The musical tells the story of a beloved Jewish singing duo who rose from obscure beginnings in the Bronx to international fame as radio, TV and nightclub performers.
Ragusa is cast as the younger sister, Claire, and Briscoe is Merna, who died in the '70s. Their career spanned four decades, from the '40s to the '70s. In a way, Perfect Harmony has one foot in the past and one in today, because Claire is still performing.
The book by Barry Kleinbort and David Levy is lean and fast-paced. These writers never lose sight of the fact that the sisters were entertainers first and foremost, and that we want to hear them sing.
There was disharmony at times in the lives of the sisters. Claire's divorce earned Merna's disapproval; Merna's spouse (Avi Hoffman) was an unproductive dream-spinner.
Hoffman, a Yiddish theater star in his own right, undertakes multiple roles, as does Timothy Martin Kashuk, who also plays Bob, Claire's new husband.
The musical has hilarious moments with a dash of satire, such as the young sisters' appearance on the Jewish Children's Hour radio show. And there are poignant, dramatic scenes such as the one in which the sisters, now famous, are banned from the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas because they refuse to drop the song My Yiddishe Mama from their routine.
Perfect Harmony is told in flashbacks with Kay Brady, in a solid performance, as the present-day Claire. We meet her preparing for her first solo performance in a New York nightclub.
But it is Ragusa and Briscoe, with the radiant, energetic blend of their voices, who light up Perfect Harmony for a dazzling tour de force.
Their songs leave us entranced as they pour forth, one after the other: Tzena, Tzena, Who's Sorry Now, Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey, and Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn, which became a hit for the Andrews Sisters.
Gary Waldman directs this delicious reliving of a legend; Michael Larsen directs the musicians.
Bill von Maurer covered theater for more than a decade for The Miami News and is a frequent contributor to the Sun-Sentinel.
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