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RIVER CITY LIGHTENS UP

By Alexandyr Kent
akent@gannett.com

As a critic, I wish I could say I was above flirting. But I am also human--surprised?--and capable of recognizing a well-disguised act of pity when I see one.

While I appreciate your sense of charity, Seva May, I offer you a warning, you standout in River City Repertory's new production of "And The World Goes Round."

On Wednesday, you opened, "All That Jazz" by locking me in your spotlight gaze and soliciting me for a dance. If you do that again--with all apologies to my wife--I just might get off my stool and ruin a perfectly good evening.

Directed and designed by Patric McWilliams, this musical revue is a bare bones showcase for talent, plain and simple, and these performers are strong singers and total team players. Joining May in the ensemble is Dina Bennett, Jonathan McVay, Don McCoy and Janin Pou (all of which, it needn't be noted, have more talent in a clipped hangnail than I have in my family tree).

The cast recognizes "And The World Goes Round" for what it is: a chance to rip into the best Broadway and movie tunes by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Staged at The Capri Theatre, the floor meanders from an elevated stage over a dance floor arranged in thrust and through a bar where patrons sit on stools and sip wine. The show is interactive and loose without being pushy.

A live orchestra is tucked backstage, which allows the audience to focus on the performers, their chemistry and their occasional gestures to the crowd.

Some of Stephan DeGhelder's choreography is liberal with the shimmies and the spanks, but it never stoops to pander. DeGhelder and McWilliams have pulled together a show that shines light on the character of each song--be it cutesy, graceful, sultry, silly, bawdy or self-effacing and showy, like the closing ensemble number, "New York, New York."

Every theatergoer will pick a favorite number or two, but I loved Bennett's full-bodied embrace of the title number. She's a tantalizing singer in a lonely spotlight, someone who kind of dares the orchestra to match her in elegance and soulfulness.

For giggles, I also liked "Coffee in a Starbucks Cup" Originally, "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup" (1971)--so informs the program--Ebb updated the number before his death in 2004. Wednesday was the premiere of the new lyrics and the audience empathized as performers guzzled caffeine from Venti-sized cups between verses, sped up the pace, jittered out of control and rued the daily cost of addiction and its draining effect on homeownership.

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