A Rave Revue Strong Performances Turn Kander And Ebb’s Material Into Individual Entertaining Scenes

“The World Goes ‘Round,”

Through Aug. 5, at the Spokane Civic Theater; call 325-2507

Many of us aren’t overly familiar with the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb - and that’s one of the things I liked best about this Kander and Ebb revue.

These guys have written buckets full of funny, touching and tuneful songs, but I never knew most of them until now.

Sure, most of us know the songs of “Cabaret.” But what about “Flora, the Red Menace”? “Zorba”? “The Act”?

Those shows must be full of great songs, if “The World Goes ‘Round” is any indication. This 35-song revue is lively and funny and full of wellthought-out directorial touches.

Director Troy Nickerson isn’t content to merely have people standing there belting out 35 songs in a row. He turns every song into a scene, with little subplots and themes and jokes.

Nickerson is endlessly imaginative, both in terms of stage movement and visual impact. For instance, in the hilarious “Coffee In a Cardboard Cup,” a paean to caffeine, his singers go through all of the stages of caffeine withdrawal, and at the end, they are standing in agitated impatience at an espresso stand. In “Sara Lee,” a tribute to the joys of frozen poundcake and other delights, the characters come out with headdresses of cheesecake, as if they were the Carmen Mirandas of the freezer case.

Nickerson’s skill with characterization and scene-setting comes out most strongly in “Cell Block Tango.” Each of the five women tell their musical stories about what landed them in the clink. Invariably, it was mayhem committed on husbands. In the space of a one song, we have five vivid characters, and five hilarious vignettes.

Of course, the five women performing these songs have something to do with this. The women in this cast are exceptionally strong, led by the outstanding Jean Hardie and Kathie Doyle-Lipe. Hardie belts out the title number with great feeling and a great sense of drama. When she sings, she tells a story.

Doyle-Lipe is easily her equal when it comes to owning that stage. She does handsprings and flips around the stage, but even more impressive are her comedic skills. She gets laughs with “Arthur in the Afternoon” (a song about a midday rendezvous) and “The Grass is Always Greener.”

The other three women, Sallie J. Christensen, April Dawn Vogel and Kashana Cox, all know how to sell a song, and even more important, they know how to make it look easy. I was especially impressed with Cox, a young performer who has the presence of a Liza Minnelli.

The three men in the cast were not quite as strong. Lance Babbitt, shaven head reflecting the lights, was terrific in his numbers, but he had only one song, “We Can Make It,” in which he was allowed to shine.

Mark Bickelhaupt was fine in “The Happy Time” and “Sometimes a Day Goes By.” David Gigler had his moments too, notably, “I Don’t Remember You,” but he is not in the same class with most of the others when it comes to selling a song.

The six-person combo, led by Jeff Batdorf, was polished and professional-sounding throughout. They were installed behind a screen at the back of the stage, an arrangement that worked well. They were visible, but not distracting.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo