'St. Louis' Comes to Water Tower: It's a Perfect Match!

 

You couldn't throw at rock at the Wednesday night opening performance of "Meet Me In St. Louis" at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place without striking the cream of Chicago's hometown musical theater talent. And THAT was if you threw a rock at the audience!

Onstage it was pretty much the same story, as a brightly scrubbed cast proudly showed Magnificent Mile audiences the production that so captivated suburban Oakbrook Terrace theatergoers earlier this year. Most of that Drury Lane's cast made the trip downtown to this one, and their assurance was certainly evident. The crowd of friends and wellwishers who lapped the show up like holiday eggnog was set to party into the night, too, hoping that locals and (especially) tourists find this show just the right antidote to recession worries and post-election stress syndrome during the shopping month commencing now.

Based on the nearly legendary 1944 MGM musical film which starred Judy Garland, introduced the songs "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Trolley Song" and "The Boy Next Door" and was directed by Garland's soon-to-be husband, Vincente Minnelli, "Meet Me In St. Louis" was made into a stage musical in 1989 and played Broadway's Gershwin Theatre for six months, in what was widely viewed at the time as a bloated, somewhat by-the-numbers vanity production directed and financed by South African impresario and entrepreneur Louis Burke (remember EPI Products?). 

With a book by Hugh Wheeler (his last) and new songs by the aged Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane in the style of their early successes, the show in retrospect was not as bad as some other film-to-stage adaptations Broadway has seen. And it WAS "Meet Me In St. Louis," after all. Didn't a title that includes three bona fide top-notch Great American Songbook standards deserve a set containing two full-size side-by-side houses, a cast of old stars and young stars and a squeaky-clean trolley with a mind of its own? Of course it did. 

At some point between then and now, the script and score for the stage "MMISL" were revised. A comparison of the songs between the DRG Records original cast album released in 1990 and the Drury Lane production's Playbill reveals these major changes: "Be Anything But a Girl" was replaced by "You'll Hear a Bell" (giving Mama more to do, including a brief Act II reprise), "A Raving Beauty" was moved from Act II to Act I, "Over the Bannister" was added for the character of John (replacing his cut Act II solo, "Diamonds In the Starlight"), "The Banjo" and "Wasn't It Fun?" were relocated from Act I to Act II, the dreadful extended Halloween production sequence was thankfully cut, "You Are For Loving" was moved later in the second act, and "Paging Mr. Sousa" was cut (reducing Papa's role down to its bare bones, really).  The opening and closing sequences seem rewritten as well.

The only songs that stayed pretty much intact from then till now, aside from the three aforementioned standards sung by the character of Esther Smith (second daughter to Alonso and Anna Smith of Kensington Avenue), are the three older songs that were old when they were used in the original film (the title song, "Skip To My Lou" and the somewhat politically incorrect "Under the Bamboo Tree") and the newer songs that appear early in Act II and were originally introduced by Betty Garrett and George Hearn, respectively, "A Touch of the Irish" and "A Day In New York." In other words, virtually the entire score, and much of the book, have been rewritten from what was seen on Broadway way back when. Is it for the better?

I would have to say that it is. This show is an intimate portrait of a family facing change, set in front of a backdrop sure to grip the heart of every middle American above a certain age, the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It is not a spectacle (except at the ends of both acts), nor do we care too much about the family's larger circle of friends. We do care about the love lives of Esther and her older sister Rose, and whether the family will get to see their various hopes and dreams of progress (symbolized by the coming Fair) realized or dashed. 

We Chicagoans have to console ourselves that our grand and glorious 1893 World's Fair only has the opening sequence of Act II of "Show Boat" with which to be remembered where musical theater is concerned, and we can't be envious of our Cardinal-loving neighbors to the southwest. Wholesome, albeit white, America really doesn't get much better than this show, a combination of "Life With Father" "Oklahoma!" and "The Music Man," crossed with the more recent "Ragtime" and "Little Women." 

So, without dream ballets and 76 trombones, and with no African-Americans or Eastern European immigrants living in this particular neighborhood, a more intimate scale is certainly called for. The Water Tower Place's theatre is perfectly mid-sized at 549 seats, and fits the show grandly. Margaret James's five-piece orchestra sounds fine, and the cast of 23, directed by recent Jeff Award-winner Jim Corti, certainly fills the stage, even when you know there are more guests at the big Christmas Eve ball than we are allowed to see. Speaking of the ball, Tammy Mader's choreography is a delight, featuring well-executed social dances of the period and fun frolicking for the young people and family members, acting very much like real people really dancing.

The set by Brian Sidney Bembridge is unobtrusive, including only a few pieces so as to not get in the way of that all important trolley, here a crowd-pleasing but decidedly low-tech invention. Lights by Jesse Klug clarify location, time, temperature and mood with skill and creativity. And the costumes and props by Tatjana Radisic and D.J. Reed, respectively, really bring the middle class world of turn of the century middle America to the eyes of us 21st century Northern urbanites. 

And what about the cast? Well, the show is lucky indeed to have Chicago's two most promising juvenile leads of the moment, Justin Berkobian and Brandon Dahlquist, wooing the two Smith girls with intensity, smooth crooning, period politeness and sexy, handsome looks. Both Megan Long as Esther and Dara Cameron as Rose are lovely, sing spot-on with Garland catches in their voices, and wear their dresses and hair ribbons with perkiness and maturity. Stalwarts Michael Gerhart, Cory Goodrich and the very funny Susan Hart (as Katie the maid) play the middle-aged characters authoritatively, and Richard Henzel brings a warmth, hilarity and dignity to Grandpa Prophater. 

The very young Emily Leahy and Emily Ashenden could hardly be bettered as Tootie and Agnes, respectively. Stephen Schellhardt as their older brother, Lon, sings and dances well in a somewhat thankless role. And Nicole Hren does well with the tiny but key role of Lucinda Ballard.

But when all is said, sung, danced and done, the heat in this production is provided by Justin Berkobian and Megan Long as the young John Truitt and Esther Smith, barely meeting before marriage and separation become very real possibilities. They make their brief scenes and their duet "You Are For Loving" very special, indeed. Their moment together on that trolley is theatrical magic-really, it is. And when all works out happily for everyone in the end, as holiday entertainments are wont to do, you just might get a lump in your throat. Lump courtesy of Martin and Blane, MGM, the Drury Lane family of theaters, and your own senses of nostalgia, holiday happiness and musical comedy joy. 

"Meet Me In St. Louis" plays Wednesdays through Sundays at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St. in Chicago, through December 21st. For tickets, call 312-642-2000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.drurylanewatertower.com.