Bingo: A Winning Addiction

            If you like musicals a la the "Tuna" series (Greater Tuna, A Tuna Christmas, Red, White & Tuna et al by Williams, Sears and Howard), you'll likely enjoy another whimsical look at small town Americana in "Bingo: A Winning Musical" now at the Spotlighters Theatre.

            "Bingo" looks at the friendship between three bingo-obsessed women--Vern (Maribeth Vogel Eckenrode), Patsy (Michele Guyton) and Honey (Amy Bell) --whose characters are somewhat reminiscent of the three waitresses in the 1970s-80s TV series, Alice. It's a femme-three-amigos scenario, with the usual stereotypical mix of tough-broad, crazy-ditz, and dumb blonde bombshell with 52 ex-husbands.

            Of course, one of the reasons humans stereotype is we find such roles comforting and familiar, even if they are, as in this play, ridiculous and "over the top."

            The storyline is simple--despite a thunderstorm-of-the-century which has closed all roads in Hamerin County Florida (weather reports come from WHAM...first Tuna, now Ham, why do these rites-of-friendship comic musicals always have a meat product connection?)--Vern, Patsy and Honey are determined to make it to the bingo hall for their daily fix of the addictive game.

            The play is interspersed with flashbacks to 15 years ago when a fourth member of this group, Bernice (Angela Sullivan) fell away due to an argument with Vern over the rightful owner of a winning bingo card. In the present, Bernice is near death, unbeknownst to the trio who are joined by Alison (Karina Ferry), Bernice's daughter, though her true identity is a secret.

            Will Bernice die or receive the rare blood transfusion she needs?  Will Patsy's belief in the bingo spirit guides (which evidently reside in the form of troll dolls with Don King hairdos) bring her the elusive winning round of bingo? Will Honey find true love with Bingo caller Sam? Will Alison Bond with her mother's friends and reveal her true identity? Will you be the lucky audience member to win one of three games of bingo played during the evening?

            That last question is legitimate, as Spotlighters' performance of "Bingo" features three actual games with audience members receiving bingo cards to play. If you've never played bingo before, one can see how people might become addicted to the game, like the characters in the play (I was one number short a couple times from shouting out BINGO! and must admit, it's rather exciting). Winning audience members received cash prizes of $5, $10 and $15.

            There is a certain amount of actor-to-audience interaction. Vern, for example, took umbrage with several front row patrons for "taking her lucky seats" in the "bingo hall." In addition, the audience was instructed to "respond with a Call Back" when particular numbers were called. "I could've had a B8," being the call back for "B8." "You wish!" for "I 29," and of course the requisite "screams, cat calls, etc" for "O69."

            Ms. Bell's performance of "Gentleman Caller," her love song for the ex-con, grease monkey, bingo caller Sam (Jeffrey Hawks), was a particular crowd pleaser, as was the opening and closing performance of "Girls Night Out." However, the favorite was "Ratchet's Lament" as sung by Karina Ferry as Alison, her character being an aspiring actor, recently winning the role as Nurse Ratchett's understudy in "the off-off-off-Broadway production of 'Cuckoo,'" a musical version of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." Quick changing into a 1960s-era all-white nurse's uniform, Ms. Frey had the audience laughing heartily with her Mame-ish delivery of "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

            Amidst the tomfoolery and occasional shout of "false bingo," there's also a bit of history served as the cast plays wistful homage to the portrait of a pipe-smoking toy salesman named Edwin S. Lowe who is credited with actually discovering the game at a carnival near Atlanta in 1929. Originally called "beano" (as beans were used to mark called numbers), bingo has roots that extend back to the 16^th century.

            While the Spotlighters can't rival Broadway in terms of voice talent, the ensemble cast makes a game effort...though I suspect the actors would have been better served with individual microphones as I found the live musical accompaniment often drowned out the performers' singing voices. There was a glitch or two in the use of a computer when "WHAM Weather" came on the screens placed on stage (I wondered why they weren't able to maximize the screen and remove the computer software graphics). SuzanNe Young's Minnie suffered an occasional memory lapse with her lines, but in the end, pulled off a fine performance as the flustered bingo hall proprietor.

            "Bingo: A Winning Musical" continue its run at the Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul Street in downtown Baltimore, now through May 23^rd.  Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for ages 60+ and for students under age 18 or with valid student ID. For tickets or more information, call 410-752-1225 or visit www.spotlighters.org.