Review: MARILYN at Davidson Theatre At The Riffe Center

Inspiration can come from anywhere. According to choreographer Dani Rowe, the stimulus for MARILYN, her ballet about actress Marilyn Monroe, came from a conversation about Kim Kardashian.

The ballet, a collaboration among BalletMet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Tulsa Ballet, makes its world premiere during an engagement running Oct. 16–24 at the Davidson Theatre (77 South High Street in downtown Columbus).

In the program notes, Rowe recalls chatting with Costume Designer Emma Kingsbury about a Kardashian outfit inspired by Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress. That led to Kingsbury’s suggestion of making a ballet about Monroe. Three years later, the journey from idea to the stage is complete.

Marilyn Monroe made close to 30 movies in her 16-year career. In the years after her death, over 20 movies have been made about the actress. While it covers some of the same ground as the biopics, this production is vastly different. MARILYN uses standout performances from a large cast, vivid colors and imagery, and a dynamic score to present the actress’s story – all without saying a word.

During its run at the Davidson, MARILYN rotates seven dancers to break down three different stages of Monroe’s life: her chaotic childhood, her rise to fame, and the aftermath of that success.

As the young Norma Jeane, Ellery Oberholtzer (who shares the role with Olivia Wooddell and Lela Williams) captures her character’s wide-eyed fascination with film as clips of movie classics are projected on a screen. Her love of motion pictures fills the gaping chasm in her life left by her mother Gladys (Francesca Dugarte). The child tries to cling to her mother, who draws in and pushes away her daughter while battling paranoid schizophrenia. After her mother is institutionalized, Monroe is then shipped off to a series of couples who ultimately reject her. Oberholtzer does an amazing job of bringing to life Monroe’s need to please and to be accepted while being shut out, pushed away, and at one point kicked by a series of foster parents.

TyLeigh Baughman (who splits the role with Claire Wessells) portrays the brunette Norma Jeane as she is molded into the blonde sex symbol. She weds her high school sweetheart James Dougherty (Alvin Tovstrogray), but before the two settle into married life, he is called away to serve in the Navy. To support herself, she is molded by directors and agents into the actress they want her to be. Kingsbury pits Marilyn against faceless dancers, masked in black and wearing identical fedoras and overcoats, who shape Baughman into a variety of poses.

Sophie Miklosovic (who shares the role with Grace-Anne Powers) steers the show through the more familiar parts of Monroe’s life, which could be described as “the Blonde Bombshell Epoch.” Monroe tries to find happiness in fame and in love but ultimately finds herself shaped into a celebrity. The ballet spins you through the short-lived marriages to baseball star Joe DiMaggio (Miguel Anaya) and playwright Arthur Miller (Zachary Guthier) and the alleged affair with John F. Kennedy (Joan Sebastian Zamora). Everywhere Marilyn turns, she is confronted by the popping flashbulbs of those same faceless fedoras who desire to feed the public’s fascination with her. Her pursuit of the impossible leads to disastrous consequences.

In an interview with BroadwayWorld, Miklosovic said, “for the audience, the wig does everything once you put it on.” She may have underestimated the power of her own performance. Miklosovic’s movement, facial expressions, and gestures transform her into the icon she is portraying. Anaya captures the immense jealousy of DiMaggio; Guthier, both physically and emotionally, seems to embody Miller.

Kingsbury and lighting designer David Finn’s craft also shines through. If you know Monroe’s story, the terrain will seem familiar. Miklosovic guides the audience through the “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” scene from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES and the subway wind blowing up her white dress promo for THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH. Finn adds subtle touches, such as using squares to recreate a baseball diamond when the audience is introduced to DiMaggio and balances light and darkness to match the emotions of moments.

Rowe said a friend’s collection of Andy Warhol paintings influenced how she envisioned the ballet to be. In the second act, Kingsbury uses palettes of yellow, green, purple, and blue to capture the joy of young mothers pushing strollers in the park as Marilyn, sitting on a swing, longs to join them. Like Warhol’s paintings, it’s a scene of complex emotions enhanced by a choice of colors.

An ethereal soundtrack, composed by Shannon Rugani, lifts but never overpowers the performances. It is light and airy to match the chaos of a movie study and then counters that with strong, emotional selections to match what is transpiring on stage.

MARILYN is not a biopic facsimile of Monroe’s rise and fall. The two-act ballet is a poignant examination of not only Monroe’s life but the cost of celebrity and fame. Who knows? If the stars line up just right, we might see KARDASHIAN: THE BALLET in the near future. But one doubts it will be as captivating as MARILYN.

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