‘Scoundrels’ is rude, crude and catchy
If you thought Ruprecht the Monkey Boy was funny in the 1988 Michael Caine-Steve Martin movie, you’ll probably think this touring musical version of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is a pretty good way to spend an evening, too.
Nothing like seeing Ruprecht attach himself like an amorous poodle to an oil heiress, live and in person.
This 2005 Broadway hit retains most of the same elements that made the movie so popular – the rude humor, the clever con-man plot – while adding yet another layer of cleverness: David Yazbek’s catchy and irreverent songs.
I confess, I was skeptical of the wisdom of turning these consummate con men into singin’, dancin’ showmen. Yet after seeing this version, I have to admit: The suave Lawrence Jameson and the vulgar Freddy Benson are practically made for frothy musical comedy.
For instance, we get to see Freddy, played here by the terrific Doug Thompson, give musical expression to his gleeful greed in the song, “Great Big Stuff.” When he runs out of ideas for what he wants when he gets rich – Hummers, mansions – he pops up and shouts out one other thing: “Gout!”
Thompson’s gleeful romp through this song brought to mind Steve Martin doing his King Tut routine, which is fitting, since this is the movie’s Steve Martin character.
Yet Thompson’s demeanor and overall style are usually more John Belushi than Martin, and that turns out to work just as well.
The musical version has only one Ruprecht the Monkey Boy scene – when Freddy, as Ruprecht, meets his new “mother” downstairs in his lair – and Thompson hits it out of the park.
Thompson is a master of physical comedy – and, as Ruprecht, he uses that talent in some ways I can’t describe in print. Yet he is also an engaging singer and actor, who more than holds his own with the excellent Jamie Jackson as the sophisticated Jameson.
Jackson makes an utterly believable British gentleman, as he glides around the stage in his white dinner jacket.
He has a terrific upper-crust accent and a good singing voice – and he even does a credible job of giving the show its one and only touch of sincerity, when he falls for the bubbly Christine Colgate, played with great aplomb by Jenny Gulley.
A strong supporting cast helps as well, led by Jeff Essex as an Inspector Clouseau-like police chief and Suzanne Sole as the Omaha society gal, Muriel Eubanks. These two are given a substantial sub-plot. Sole is a gifted comedienne as well as a brassy belter.
The level of the cast exceeds, in general, the level of the production values. The sets, while well-designed, look a bit on the cheap and shaky side. Plastic-looking palm trees are a recurring motif.
The music is provided by a five-person “orchestra,” and one musician is listed as a “Notion operator.” If you hear what sounds like brass, for instance, it was probably pre-programmed. There is no brass player.
People around us were complaining about the sound levels on opening night; it seemed a touch lower and muddier than normal.
The show is probably a challenge to the ears in the best of circumstances, with its thick French, British and Viennese accents and Yazbek’s rapid-fire lyrical wordplay.
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is no landmark in Broadway history, yet it delivers exactly what it promises: the laughs from the movie, plus catchy tunes.