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| Christian Doyle |
Stardust
is back at Harlequin. The series based on performers in the fictional Stardust
Club in New York and traditionally set at Christmas during World War II has
been a holiday staple at Harlequin Productions almost as long as the theater
has been in existence. But their last previous performance was in December 2011
and we thought the franchise was being permanently retired. Now it’s back with
one significant change: the time has been moved forward by a decade.
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| Bruce Haasl |
It is
now 1957. Rock and roll rules the world, or at least the teenage world of
America, even though many adults still hopefully predict it will be a passing
fad. Once again the workers and performers at the nightclub come together on
Christmas Eve, and this time a blizzard has them trapped. Naturally romance
ensues. No one can leave the club — except actually some of them do leave and
come back and others show up, the last to appear being a mysterious man named
Lucas (Robert Humes).
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| Emile Rommel Shimkus |
In a
clever bit of writing by Harlowe Reed (himself something of a mystery man),
everyone is astonished that Lucas knows everyone’s name. How does he know them?
Well, because their names are on the show announcement in front of the club, he
explains. Except the bartender’s name, Louis, (Christian Doyle) is not and
Lucas seems to know him too. Hmmm ...
The
typically thin but entertaining story line is primarily a setup for an evening
filled with music.
The
other song-and-dance men and women are Maggie Lofquist as Joy, the club’s
no-nonsense business manager; Amy Shephard as Rosalie and Emilie Rommel-Shimkus
as Ellen, both performers; Mark Alford as Baxter the sound man, who is the
epitome of an overly enthusiastic 1950s teenager with dreams of becoming a
star; Bruce Haasl as Eddie, a typical romantic-lead type who is Joy’s brother
and another wannabe star; and Jerod Nace as the club manager Nate.
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| Christian Doyle and Amy Shephard |
Good
singers and actors all, they deliver more than 20 major hits from the early
years of rock and roll, starting with Baxter doing a credible Elvis
impersonation on “White Christmas.”
Musical
highlights include Shephard’s “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and Nace’s
outstanding rendition of “Shake Hands with Santa Claus” and his fabulous take
on the great do-wop hit “Sh-Boom,” aka “Life Can Be a Dream.” Lofquist is
classy on the early ’50s hit “Que Sera Sera,” and she and Rommel Shimkus team
up nicely on the sweet ballad “Sincerely.”
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| The band |
Humes’s
his first song was a beautiful version of Johnny Mathis’s “Chances Are.”
Some
of the dancing opening night seemed less than inspired, and much of the cast
didn’t seem to have their hearts completely in it until the second act, with
the exceptions of the incredibly energetic Shephard and Alford, who burned up
the stage with their energy. Humes’s dancing was stiff, but his singing made up
for it.
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| Robert Humes |
Comic
highlights were provided by Shephard’s roller skating and by Doyle’s renditions
of “The Great Pretender” and “Be-Bop-a-Lula.” I won’t spoil the surprise by
telling you what he does with these songs; suffice it to say it is unexpected.
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| Mark Alford |
The band, as always in Harlequin shows, is outstanding —
even without the presence of Musical Director Bruce Whitney who is taking a
holiday this holiday season but was in the audience to enjoy the show with us
civilians. Dave Tillinghast plays a mean guitar, and pianist and band leader
Brent Pendleton takes a turn at singing on the hard-rocking “Long Tall Sally”
and “Blue Suede Shoes.”
With
music like that plus warm holiday cheer, how can you go wrong?
Thursdays
through Saturdays, 8p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. through Dec. 31
WHERE:
State Theater, 202 E. 4th Ave., Olympia
TICKETS:
prices vary, call for details
INFORMATION:
360-786-0151; http://www.harlequinproductions.org/
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| from left: Mark Alford, Maggie Lofquist, Jerod Nace and Christian Doyle |
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