BWW Reviews: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT Leaves DFW in Stitches

By: Sep. 17, 2014
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It's booze, bootleggers, adultery, rouge butlers, and dancing from chandeliers-and it all adds up to two and a half hours of sidesplitting comedy. NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT comes to Bass Performance Hall in DFW ready to make its mark.

Set in Long Island during the Prohibition era of the 1920's, the story revolves around Jimmy Winter and Billie Bendix and weaves in the song styling's of brothers George and Ira Gershwin. When on-the-run female bootlegger Billie (played by Mariah MacFarlane) meets wealthy playboy Jimmy (played by Alex Enterline) she hatches a plan with her cohorts, Cookie and Duke, to hide multiple cases of gin in his barely used summer home. But as luck would have it Jimmy shows up with his new wife, interpretive dancer Eileen Evergreen (Stephanie Harter Gilmore). And in an even stickier plot turn, Jimmy and Billie start to fall for one another.

The show, written by Joe DiPietro, is a satire of the 1920's that has one-liners and hilarious plot twists that can only revival Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." The sets and costume only help to make you feel like you are in the 20's stopping by to meet with the characters before going to party with Gatsby. The show is also very dance heavy, thanks to the original choreography and direction by Kathleen Marshall, recreated by David Eggers, but the entire cast pulls it off with flare in a nod to the tremendous talent musical theater can provide.

Main stars MacFarlane and Enterline make a lovely duo, playing off of each other's energy and the chemistry they share is almost palpable. Their voices in "'S Wonderful" complete each other perfectly, but it's their Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers reminiscent dance break that seals their place as the couple you want to get together in the end. Enterline's boyish charm won the audience over while it was MacFarlane's stunning voice and spark that made her so lovable.

Supporting actors Aaron Fried, Thomas Schario, Benjamin Perez, Stephanie Harter Gilmore, and Rachael Scarr along with The Chorus Girls and The Vice Squad helped to provide endless laughter and talent, and tie a neat little bow on the otherwise wacky story.

It's Reed Campbell's Cookie, however, who is the scene-stealer. Campbell has a presence on stage that demands to be seen and the deliverance of his lines mixed with his use of body language and space leaves one thinking he could be Jim Carrey and Danny Kaye's love child. Campbell is definitely the one to watch as his career unfolds.

I can promise you, nothing you could be doing this week would bring you more joy than going to see NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT at Bass Performance Hall. The show runs until September 21st, for tickets go to www.basshall.com or call 817-212-4280.



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