IF IT WAS EASY...
Written by Stewart F. Lane and Ward
Morehouse III
Directed by Stewart F. Lane
At the Douglas Fairbanks Theater
Review by Craig Quackenbush Broadway proucer Steve Gallop is having problems. He is in a career funk, having not produced anything worthy or successful in
years. His dreams of Broadway have fallen by the wayside. He hides in his office from bill collectors. The rent has gone unpaid, the electricity is about to go, and even the
window blinds are broken. He lives his life in disarray.
Steve and his longtime friend and verbal sparring partner, gossip columnist Randi Lester, have a meeting
of the minds. Together they conceive Sinatra: The Musical. It seems ludicrous, almost impossible, but the prospects for the future brighten when gangster Joey Fingers
enters the picture with briefcases full of money and a blank check.
Written by Tony award-winning producer Stewart F. Lane and newspaper theater columnist Ward
Morehouse III, If It was Easy...
is a playful and gentle satire of the Great White Way. The premise is based on a real-life incident that occurred shortly after the death of Frank Sinatra. Morehouse called Lane, having heard Lane might actually be producing a Sinatra musical. Once the press got a hold of this fleeting information, it made headlines, and went national and global. Since Morehouse had instigated the madness, he and Lane collaborated on a play about the situation, and the result is
If It Was Easy...
John Jellison, playing the fraught producer Steve Gallop, leads the cast. Jellison is outstanding in the role; it's a seemingly
effortless performance. With his remarkable voice and movement, he creates an energetic, charming and even occasionally manic character.
Bonnie Comley, as the
columnist Randi Lester, plays up the moxie of her character to fine effect. |
Lucy Handover, (Vicki Van Tassel) is Gallop's secretary, and, of course, an aspiring
actress. She is from farm country in Pennsylvania, and has dreams of Broadway grandeur. Unfortunately, Lucy does not appear to have the talent to facilitate those dreams.
Van Tassel's performance is vivacious and clever. Her comic timing and physicality is excellent. Whereas she could have played the
ditzy role in a ditsy fashion, she does not. Her portrayal of Lucy is both amusing and smart.
At the matinee I attended, the role of Joey
fingers was not played as billed by William Marshall Miller, but by Brad Bellamy. It was a last-minute substitution, and though Bellamy did the best he could, he lacked the
physicality or menace that is necessary in a character of this ilk.
The production values are top-notch, from the set and costume design, to the lighting
and thunderstorm effects. Video projections of newpaper headlines about the hubbub surrounding Sinatra: The Musical provide creative and humorous transitions from
scene-to-scene.
If It Was Easy... seems to be a throwback to another era, an era it cherishes; it's comparable to a screwball comedy. It pays
tribute to the world of Broadway, and this tribute is voiced through the dynamic performance of Jellison. His portrayal of the beleaguered producer is non-clichéd. Gallop comes across as human, heartfelt and
passionate. At the heart of it all, Gallop embodies the collective love and enduring hope of the stage. |
