Theater Review—

Funny Scenes, Good Acting & Great Sets Keep

‘Victor/Victoria’ Afloat At Richter

By Julie Stern

DANBURY — As the Musicals at Richter company waited for the sky to darken enough to begin their opening night production of Victor/Victoria, they warmed the audience up with some lovely and familiar music — “South Pacific,” “Oklahoma,” “Candide”… — and that was the problem: Why weren’t they playing anything from the show everyone was there to see?

Because, unfortunately, Victor/Victoria is a clever, original play with absolutely no memorable songs. The dancing was great-  the combined efforts of choreographers Edward Carignan and Matthew Farina were lively and professional, and enhanced (as usual) by DB Productions costumes, which, as always, use color and detail to wonderful effect.

Andy Salom’s set was ambitious and complex. The highlight was the two story creation of adjoining duplex hotel suites that were sturdy enough for the actors to stand on (when they weren’t hiding under beds or in the bathrooms). At the same time, the crew was able to change back to other scenes — a nightclub, a shabby apartment, a street square in Paris — in the blink of an eye.

In case you are not familiar with the Julie Andrews movie, the plot is rather like an inversion of Cage au Folles. In that one, a gay man pretends to be straight; here, a straight woman pretends to be a gay man.

Longtime MAR favorite Juliette Garrison plays Victoria Grant, an English concert soprano stranded in Paris during the Depression, when the manager of her touring company ran off with the cash. Homeless, wet and hungry, she is befriended by  Caroll Todd, the manager of the nightclub, Chez Lui. When Edith Labisse, his shrewish employer, fires him for defending the bedraggled English girl, Todd takes her home to his apartment.

His motives are pure, he explains, for he is gay, and has no seductive intentions. However, seeing Victoria in a pair of men’s pajamas he has loaned her to wear while her only dress dries out, Todd comes up with an idea that he promises will make them both rich: Victoria will masquerade as Victor, a Polish count who has been rejected by his family because of his homosexuality, and his penchant for dressing up as a woman.

Who could be a better female impersonator than a genuine female? With this in mind, Todd introduces “Victor” to the biggest impresario in Paris, and sure enough, he/she is soon the hottest item in town, allowing them to move from his tiny apartment to a lavish hotel suite.

Complications ensue when King Marchan, a Chicago gangster vacationing in Paris with his dumb doll, Norma Cassidy, and his bodyguard, Squash Bernstein, sees “Victor’s” act and falls in a quandary. Sparks fly between King and Victor, and they are clearly in love. But can a tough guy like King be in love with a man? He can’t believe it — he is desperate to know the truth — what would his bodyguard think? What will happen?

There are some funny scenes and some very good acting, in particular, Al Recchio as Todd and Matt Criscuolo as King Marchan. Renee Kaminsky is comical as Norma, and Elyse Jasensky is properly wicked as Edith Labisse. Tom Morris does a fine turn as the confused bodyguard.

Under Donald Birely’s surehanded direction, the show is never boring. It just makes you wish that there was some catchier music.

(Performances continue through July 5, with curtain Friday through Sunday at 8:30 pm at Richter Arts Center, 100 Aunt Hack Road in Danbury. The grounds of the outdoor theater open at 7:15 for picnics and gathering before the show.

Tickets are $21 for adults, $16 seniors and $13 students. Call 748-6873 for reservations and additional information.)