BWW Reviews: Broadway-Bound ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS
Based on the rat pack film of the 60s of the same title with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford, Robin and the 7 Hoods is now a classy, sassy, jazzy musical, set in the early 60s... with all the glorious old standards by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, and helmed by the ingenious Casey Nicholaw, whose staging and choreography send it soaring. There is something to please everyone: an engagingly upbeat gangster storyline, that includes not one but two love scenarios, the aforementioned sensational music and dance, and a fabulous dream cast that infuse the whole proceedings with a winning team spirit.
It's the story of how crime bosses controlled and ran Chicago - including the police - and how one woman and one hood fought back and even managed to do a little economic good for mankind along the way. Remember Robin Hood and his merry handouts? You can't take it too seriously, though; it's tongue-in-cheek like religion in Guys and Dolls. You can pray a bit but just experiment, leaving plenty of room to laugh and enjoy what you see. Gangster themed Guys and Dolls and Robin and the 7 Hoods are both high on the entertainment scale. Whereas G & D has a cartoonish comic strip texture, Hoods is more grounded but, as with film noir, add in lots of stylish gloss. Nothing short of mesmerizing is the toe tapping in "Walkin' Happy", and other pulsating production numbers take off like "The Tender Trap", "Come Blow Your Horn" and "Ring-a-Ding Ding". Great tunes that were simply made to dance to!
Heading the snappy ensemble is Eric Schneider as Robbo Ortona, a little dynamo with a gigantic sex appeal. Filling the shoes of sidekick Little John Dante is magnetic Will Chase. Both make a super pleasing duo that can joke, sing and dance with gusto. Kelly Sullivan is the beautiful and feisty heroine, TV reporter Marian Archer who falls head over heels in love with Robbo ("All the Way") and Amy Spanger is Alana O'Dell, Little John's gal, who calls to mind the gutsiness of Miss Adelaide from Guys and Dolls: sexy, brassy with a great set of pipes. Rick Holmes makes a rather dashing villain as P. J. Sullivan and Adam Heller is scene-stealingly infectious as Inspector Nottingham ( "High Hopes"). Jeffrey Schecter shines as hood Willie Scarlatti in "Walkin' Happy". The entire ensemble simply dazzle.
Set by Robert Brill with its wide open quality, multiple levels and sliding panels is cinematic and works quite effectively to replicate the big city night life of that decade and Gregg Barnes' costumes are colorful and period attractive.
Make no mistake about it, this show has Casey Nicholaw written all over it. It sparkles, crackles and razzle dazzles from top to bottom thanks to his endearing genius. It should have legs and be an enormous hit wherever it sets up shop.
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Robin and the 7 Hoods book by Rupert Holmes; lyrics by Sammy Cahn & music by Jimmy Van Heusen directed & choreo-graphed by Casey Nicholaw Old Globe Theatre, San Diego through Augsut 29
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