My One and Only

On the stage of the Goodspeed Opera House, men in formal attire are dancing deftly, with their large shadows visible on the wall behind them. And then-—a bit of wonderful trickery that catches us utterly by surprise—the men on stage begin dancing one way, and the shadows on the wall  behind them begin dancing another way altogether. It's a neat effect, and one of many moments of magic in Goodspeed's new production of My One and Only.

Director Ray Roderick and choreographer Kelli Barclay have staged this show with flair, understanding, and just the right tongue-in-cheek tone. It's stylish, it's witty, and it's great fun. The cast of 20 breaks into dance at the least provocation, numbers build smartly, and the book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer carries us along buoyantly. This production is well cast, from the leads (Tony Yazbeck as the aviator, Gabrielle Ruiz as the swimmer) to the colorful supporting characters (Alde Lewis Jr. as Mr. Magix, Trent Armand Kendall as a spirited preacher, Kristen Wyatt as Mickey). The Gershwin songs remain a delight. I loved watching Lewis slyly teaching dance moves to Yazbeck in the title number. And Kendall's exuberance gave "Kickin' the Clouds Away" a lift. (It was fun, too, seeing Kendall briefly as an Irish woman; the director should have had him also double as the Arabian nightclub owner. His comic timing would have made that scene count for more.) This is an excellent Goodspeed production. If producers wanted to transfer this one to Broadway, it would stand head and shoulders above a lot of what's opened in recent years.

(Pictured: Tony Yazbek and Alde Lewis, Jr. ; Photo by Diane Sobolewski)

Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
May 11, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org