Deborah Mae Hill

It’s no jive, ATI’s back in the ‘Hive’

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By John Lyle Belden

Actors Theatre of Indiana is buzzing again with the sound of a “Beehive” musical, opening its season with “Never Can Say Goodbye,” remembering the music of the 1970s.

Five of the six women from last year’s “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical” return: Rachel Dudt, Riley Francis, Michaela McGarel, Kayla Perry, and Kira Rangel, joined by Deborah Mae Hill, who was featured in last season’s “Sunset Boulevard” at ATI. Carol Worcel again directs, with musical direction by Ginger Stoltz.

Taking inspiration from the prior musical by Larry Gallagher, this edition is by Fred Stuart with George Luton. While the song selection for this revue gives emphasis to female performers, some songs – originally recorded by men – still feel like ones your Mom (or grandmother) sang along to with the radio back in the day. Whatever the source, as soon as you hear these hits, you can’t help but think of the era they came from.

To help put everyone in the Beehive mood, the ladies revisit the “Name Game” – with a bit  more funk. They take on various aspects of 1970s sound, from the country-rock feel of Linda Ronstadt to the punky pop of Blondie. For the mellow side, there’s a mashup of “First Time Ever I saw Your Face” and “You Light Up My Life” which works nicely.

At the end of the first act comes an excellent tribute to the classic rock band Heart, in which guitarist Bryan Hedrick steps forward into the fog-bathed spotlight. Worcel said this took some persuading, as the musicians prefer to stay in the background, but it came off great. And by the combined power and harmony of the women’s voices, they managed to evoke the legendary vocals of Ann Wilson.

The Beehive band, led by Stoltz, also included Gisele Dollinger, Chloe McManallen, Dave Paulson, Neil Broeker, Christian Starnes, Matt Greven, and Greg Wolff.

The second half of the show ranged from Motown to Country to Disco – as well as the “ooga-chaka” version of “Hooked on a Feeling” – with a couple of instances of bringing an audience member into the act.

Worcel noted after opening night that this was very much a collaborative effort to bring these songs so wonderfully to life. Aside from the cast, and Stoltz and the musicians, she acknowledged stage managers Nina J.S. Ludwick and Hadleigh Pierce.

An excellent evening (or Sunday matinee) of music and memories with an infectious feeling of funky fun, “Never Can Say Goodbye: The 70’s Beehive Musical” is in its second weekend, running through Sept. 20 in The Studio Theater of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. For info and tickets, visit atistage.org or thecenterpresents.org.

ATI shines with story of faded star

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By John Lyle Belden

Actors Theatre of Indiana gives us a “new way to dream” in an old story, the musical “Sunset Boulevard” by Andrew Lloyd Webber with Don Black and Christopher Hampton, based on the 1950 classic noir film co-written and directed by Billy Wilder.

The movie, which the book of the musical closely follows, starred former silent film star Gloria Swanson (who, unlike her character Norma Desmond, did manage a transition to “talkies”) and William Holden, giving them, Wilder and the film Oscar nominations. It’s also notable for ending with one of the most famous lines in the history of film.

Our Norma is played splendidly by Judy Fitzgerald, joined by the return of fellow ATI co-founder Don Farrell as her butler Max. Being a film noir story, someone will die violently; struggling script writer Joe Gillis (Luke Weber) tells us what leads up to that moment.

After a couple of numbers about the high-pressure hassle of getting a movie produced and made, Joe leaves the Paramount studios – dodging husky repo men after his car – and ends up in the driveway of a large old mansion on Sunset, where he finds an aging movie star about to hold a funeral for her pet chimpanzee.

Promised ample pay, Joe agrees to edit the script Norma has written for her cinematic return (not a “comeback,” she insists). He quickly sees that she is delusional and the pages unfilmable, but he gets to stay at the mansion, so he does. Meanwhile, at Paramount, he works with his friend Artie Green’s (Calvin Bernardo) fiancé Betty Schaefer (Deborah Mae Hill) on an actually promising script for a “Girl Meets Boy” romance.

We also meet various Hollywood folks played by Scot Greenwell, Keith Potts, Megan Arrington-Marks, Brooklyn Stewart, Corey Rudell, Peter Scharbrough, and Eric Olson, who also charmingly portrays legendary director Cecil B. DeMille.

Being set in 1949-50, there are a lot of stage cigarettes. The mood is also set by black-and-white film projections of the era, designed by Joey Mervis. Director Michael Blatt has this typically larger than life musical adapt to the intimate space of The Studio Theater with the help of a flexible set design by Jay Ganz. It hints at the artificiality of Hollywood with pieces at times folding shut like they are part of a backlot studio, other times revealing the worn splendor of Norma’s home.

Musical director is Ginger Stoltz and choreographer is Carol Worcel. Fitzgerald and Weber provide appropriately big bold voices for this big musical, with Farrell’s practically operatic.

There is also a fair amount of humor, mainly directed at the foibles of the movie biz. Norma’s mental decline, meanwhile, is taken more seriously, a contrast that aids the slow-boil suspense.  And it will all lead to that iconic spoken line.

For a look at the dark side of the movie biz, where even “the Greatest Star” can become left behind, see the beautifully tragic “Sunset Boulevard,” Wednesdays through Sundays through May 10 at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. For tickets, visit atistage.org or thecenterpresents.org.

Would be a crime to miss ATI’s ‘Scoundrels’

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By John Lyle Belden

The criminal culture on the French Riviera of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is an easy-going atmosphere where there is truly honor among thieves, the setting for the raucous comedy of the 1988 film (starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin) and the more recent Broadway musical, now presented by Actors Theatre of Indiana.

Polished and posh local con man Lawrence Jameson (played by TJ Lancaster) has perfected his act of posing as an exiled prince, extracting funds for his “revolution” from willing rich women, including Muriel (Judy Fitzgerald), an American all too eager to spend her ex-husband’s fortune. Lawrence’s accomplice, Andre (Don Farrell), is also the city Chief of Police, so they pretty much have it made.

But shortly after hearing that a notorious swindler, The Jackal, is in the area, Lawrence meets Freddy (Tony Carter) a crude but effective fast-talker who wants the more mature con artist to teach him his methods. They gain a grudging respect for each other, but get on each others nerves to the point that they make a wager – first to fleece their next mark for $50 thousand gets to stay; the other must leave. Enter the Soap Queen of Cincinnati, Christine Colgate (Deborah Mae Hill). The con is on!

The result is hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. Fortunately, the musical’s book by Jeffrey Lane (songs by David Yazbek) doesn’t force our leads to be copies of the charismatic Caine or unique Martin, but excellently-rendered characters that Lancaster and Carter have obvious fun embodying. They and the supremely charming Hill make the most of the show’s frequent slapstick moments. Fitzgerald fits among the criminals, stealing scenes — especially with fellow ATI founder Farrell. Supporting and chorus parts are ably filled by Michael Corey Hassel, Tim Hunt, Annalee Traeger, Brynn Tyszka and Sabra Michelle, who shines as an Oklahoma oil heiress set on marrying our faux Prince. Direction is by New Yorker Michael Blatt.

ATI opens their 2019-20 season with this show in the intimate confines of The Studio Theater at the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel, running through Sept. 29. Get info and tickets at atistage.org, or thecenterpresents.org.