Theater Review—

‘Idols of The King’ Offers The Music & Magic Of Elvis

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT — Each year Downtown Cabaret Theater departs from its standard fare of large cast-tightly choreographed musicals to stage one show devoted to a retrospective portrait of a single star, Alan Sherman, Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline being among recent honorees. These shows allow for a concert the performer’s most famous songs, loosely tied together by biographical installments explaining how the performer got to be who and what he/she was.

This year the star is Elvis Presley, and the 16 scenes in Idols of The King bring back his memorable numbers, among them “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Love Me Tender,”  “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Softly and Tenderly (Jesus is Calling)” and so forth.

Lance Zitron, who plays “The King,” is, happily, not an Elvis impersonator (although Leslie Neilson Bowman’s succession of costumes perfectly captures the essence of the past). Instead, Mr Zitron is a performer in his own right who is able to showcase the music that really was something special. While he wiggles his pelvis expertly, it is the music that makes the show, and invites audiences to remember why The King was so remarkable.

On the other hand, the “play” itself, by Ronnie Claire Edwards and Allen Crowe, is really about the people who idolized Elvis in his prime. Labeled simply as the “male and female leads,” Tom Angland and Christine Rowan use quick change artistry with wigs and costumes to switch back and forth from playing Edna and Zig (a retired couple in an Airstream) to their shiftless grandson Kevin and his stripper-girlfriend, Raynelle; to Darla, a checker at a Georgia Piggly Wiggly; fundamentalist preacher Jagger; Ruth, the repressed spinster piano teacher looking after Darla’s daughter and her own tyrannical mother; Pressman, a disabled Vietnam vet working as a blackjack dealer; Norton, a weirdo who believes dentists are wiring our teeth for purposes of mind control; Zephyr, a flower child who believes she’s carrying Elvis’ baby; an effeminate caterer from Pauline’s Party Planners; a Vegas showgirl; and  Kevin’s mother, a waitress still mourning the death in childhood of Kevin’s twin, Travis.

The “plot” begins with the announcement of Elvis’ death, inspiring Darla to make an impromptu trip to Graceland, and flashbacks to a time when Edna, Zig, Kevin and Raynelle were all racing to get to Vegas in time for one of the King’s big concerts.

These characters are heavily satirized, as they plot to get rich by marketing souvenir goldplated commode-shaped ashtrays that are replicas of a toilet Elvis once used.

The piano teacher, the blackjack dealer, the waitress and the showgirl are more sympathetically portrayed, sharing instances of Elvis’ kindness and generosity.

Although the “Hee-Haw” stuff was too over the top for my party’s tastes, the acting was certainly good, and John Brigg’s direction keeps the pace fast and funny. I guess the overall point is that Elvis and the craze for him was an American phenomenon, and the show captures who idolized him and why.

In reality, though, it is the music that made him great. At times it seems as though the songs which punctuate each episode are shortened in order to allow for the comedy routine to take over. I wish it had been the other way around, and that we had been able to hear each number with all its choruses to completion.

(Performances continue at Downtown Cabaret, 263 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport, through August 1.

Curtain is Friday at 8, Saturday at 5:30 and 8:30, and Sunday at 5:30. Tickets are $32.50 and $42.40, with student, senior and group discounts available. Call 203-576-1636 for details.)