Although it is uneven and poorly structured, Just in Time: The Judy Holiday Story, which I caught at The SoHo Playhouse as part of The New York International Fringe Festival, contains moments of pure gold. Writer/director Bob Sloan has written some scenes—like the show’s shimmering opening, and the first surprising meeting between Judy Holiday and Adolph Green—that are perfect. He’s also found an actress, Marina Squerciati, who can do a startlingly on-target evocation of Holiday. But the story rambles, and dull patches slow things up. The extraordinary promise of the show's first scenes fades away. I hope the playwright will develop this script further. There is some great material, but also some that is mediocre—like a song titled “Life,” written by Bob Sloan and Nate Sloan; Judy Holiday and her friends, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, wouldn’t have made it to the top performing such drek. Mary Gutzi (my personal favorite in the cast) is a wonder as Holiday's proud, pushy mother. Catherine Lefrere and Adam Harrington, playing multiple characters, offer moments of sheer delight, as well as moments that don’t really work yet. (They need to try harder to capture the essence of such performers as Katharine Hepburn and John Huston.) I don't think it’s wise to title this show Just in Time if you’re not going to include the famous song of that same name, introduced by Holiday in Bells Are Ringing. And it seems crazy—a cop-out—to tell us about, rather than show us, some of the most dramatic parts of Holiday’s life, like her final decline due to cancer.
(Pictured: Marina Squerciati; Photo by Ellen Nickles)
Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
August 20, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org
|
