Hit’s performance mirrors ‘B’ material
“Mame” was a huge Broadway hit in 1966 – and even today plenty of people can whistle the title tune – yet it has never quite achieved the status of “beloved classic.”
Call it a solid B musical. And I would call the Spokane Civic’s version a solid B production.
It has two important things going for it: The memorable Jerry Herman score, including “We Need a Little Christmas,” and the always entertaining direction and choreography of Troy Nickerson.
Most of the pleasures to be had in this evening are the result of Nickerson’s talent for creating high-energy production numbers and clever comic business.
From the opening “St. Bridget” number to the big “Mame” number to the comic “Bosom Buddies” duet, he fills the stage with high spirits. Nickerson has a talent for taking an amateur cast of mixed skills and convincing them (and us) that they are having the time of their lives. That, along with some fine supporting performances, is what ultimately gives this show a passing grade. The material, however, is what tends to drag it down.
The plot is about a bohemian New York woman named Mame Dennis, whose wild 1920s social life is interrupted by the arrival of her little nephew, Patrick.
She becomes his guardian. She and Patrick go through numerous ups and downs of the financial, marital and emotional variety, until both finally end up happy and triumphant.
The themes have not aged well. The show’s premise is that free-spirited people – the artists, the show-people, the drinkers and Mame – are good people, while stodgy, conservative and boring people (bankers, etc.) are bad people. Since the 1960s, however, experience has taught us that many self-proclaimed “free spirits” can be every bit as annoying.
That is certainly the case with Mame, as played by Melody Deatherage. Deatherage plays her as loud and brassy, which is certainly apt. Her singing voice is solid enough to get her successfully through her big solo number, “If He Walked Into My Life.” Yet she never quite seems to radiate the charm and charisma this role requires (and which Angela Lansbury famously provided on Broadway). It’s not a positive sign for a “Mame” production when the supporting players get more applause than the star, as was the case Saturday night.
To be fair, several of the supporting players were very good indeed. It’s hard to compete with Keith Hahto, the adorable fifth-grader who plays the young Patrick. He has a pure, clear voice and a natural, unaffected way of delivering his lines. The kid can dance, too.
It’s also hard to compete with the incomparable Kathie Doyle-Lipe, who ate up the role of Vera Charles, the hard-drinking Broadway star.
She put her physical comedy skills to hilarious use, tottering drunkenly around the stage on stiletto heels and flinging herself onto couches.
Tami Knoell was also funny and winning as the naïve nanny, Agnes Gooch.
The overall production values struck me as slightly below the Civic’s standard. Mame’s apartment looked a little bit cheaper than it should, and the art on the walls was unconvincing. Also, the small combo, under the direction of Michael Saccomanno, seemed a bit shaky in the overture, but eventually hit its stride. I’d give the music a grade of B-flat.