BWW Reviews: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT at the Capitol Theatre 's Marvelous
The national tour of NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, currently playing at the Capitol Theatre, "'s wonderful, 's marvelous."
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, book by Joe DiPietro) is a recent Broadway transplant (Salt Lake City is only the third stop on its national tour). The meat of the 1920s story is a boy-meets-girl romance, but it has a hefty side helping of bootleggers, temperance crusaders, and wild chorus girls. Jimmy Winter is a rich playboy who doesn't know what he really wants until he meets Billie Bendix, a female bootlegger who catches his eye and earns his love.
Alex Enterline as Jimmy is a ray of sunshine that warms and brightens the stage. Channeling original star Matthew Broderick while making the role his own, he soft-shoes his way into the hearts of the audience.
Mariah MacFarlane exudes confidence in her portrayal of the rough-around-the-edges Billie, her mellifluous voice offering occasional peeks into the character's inner thoughts and feelings.
Reed Campbell is also memorable in his loveable portrayal of Cookie, a gangster hiding out in Jimmy's beach house disguised as a butler.
Other supporting players in the great cast include Rachael Scarr as Eileen Evergreen, Stephanie Harter Gilmore as Duchess Estonia Dulworth, Stephanie Gandolfo as Jeannie Muldoon, Aaron Fried as Duke Mahoney, Barbara Weetman as Millicent Winter, Benjamin Perez as Senator Max Evergreen, and Thomas Schario as Chief Barry.
The scenic design by Shoko Kambara, based on the original Broadway design by Derek McLane, is a cut above the ordinary, as is the choreography by Kathleen Marshall (Broadway director/choreographer) and her longtime associate David Eggers (tour director/choreographer).
Marshall's and Eggers' staging, along with Joe DiPietro's breezy book, give a contemporary feel to the period story. The action always moves along briskly, except when taking short detours for the Gershwins' delectable classic numbers: the lovely "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "But Not for Me," the catchy title song and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and a number of little-known gems such as "Will You Remember Me?" and "Delishious."
If you are a fan of the Gershwins, you will not want to miss this night of old-fashioned (but decidedly not stodgy) entertainment.
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT will play at the Capitol Theatre through September 28, 2014. For tickets, call ArtTix at 801-355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.arttix.org.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel, L-R Mariah MacFarlane (Billie Bendix) and Alex Enterline (Jimmy Winter)
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