Energetic Young Performers Keep ‘Victor’ Crowd Laughing

“Victor/Victoria” Wednesday, Jan. 26, Spokane Opera House

This show featured an over-the-top, Betty Boop-type performance by Ann Burnette Mathews.

The comedy was low and so were the production values, but the laughter volume was remarkably high for this one-night-only touring performance of “Victor/Victoria.”

The Opera House crowd was in absolute hysterics at this Blake Edwards/Henry Mancini vehicle, based on the 1982 movie.

It’s not hard to figure out why. This show featured an over-the-top, Betty Boop-type performance by Ann Burnette Mathews as the blond bimbo Norma Cassidy. This stock character, with roots in the dumb blonde genre dating back to the vaudeville era, was squealy, annoying and a tremendous amount of fun. She milked the laughter shamelessly, which was fine with most of the crowd. By the second act, all she had to do was croon “Poo-ookie” to her boyfriend, and people would dissolve in fits of laughter.

That’s not the only reason this show worked. Michael Shiles turned in a winning performance as Carroll Todd, or Hot Toddy, as he was once known to certain boyfriends. This is another broadly drawn character, perilously close to a stock character (the aging queen), but Shiles gives the character humanity and personality.

Then there’s Deb Martin as Victoria Grant, the singer who impersonates Count Victor, a female impersonator. Martin seems to be channeling Julie Andrews, the originator of the role, to the extent that she sometimes sounds like a plummy Mary Poppins. This is a bit much at times, but the fact is, Martin handles those Henry Mancini songs almost as nicely as Andrews.

And finally, of course, this show has the Blake Edwards touch, which on the positive side means a professional flair for farce. Edwards is the man who gave us the “Pink Panther” movies, and this show is loaded with standard Pink Panther gags such as people hiding under beds, people having doors slammed on their fingers, people falling off of ladders, etc.

This is where the negative side of Blake Edwards comes in. A great deal of the comedy is low comedy, hackneyed physical comedy, older than Milton Berle and utterly predictable. Victoria’s high notes don’t break a wine glass just once, but twice, and each time, of course, it comically injures a character.

This show, while dealing with issues of sexual orientation, is actually at heart an old-fashioned, ‘30s-style musical. It is also, unfortunately, just as corny and silly as one.

Mancini’s score is mostly disappointing. He has written dozens of memorable melodies and beautiful ballads, but this contains none of them. “Le Jazz Hot” is the closest thing to a memorable tune in this entire show.

This tour is a non-Equity tour, meaning that the performers are relatively young and unseasoned. This is not a huge problem, since they make up for it in energy, talent and enthusiasm. But it also means the budget is relatively low, which is manifested in flimsy sets, a small orchestra (seven pieces) and a reduced chorus line.

To the performers’ credit, they overcome most of these problems with sheer talent. A big budget is not required for getting the Opera House howling with laughter.