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'Blame' offers hilarious trip down memory
lane
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| MICHAEL W. FREEMAN,
Herald News Staff Reporter |
July 20,
2001 |
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| "Blame It on the Movies" is a pretty apt
title for any theater company. Theaters lost their monopoly on
audiences when the silver screen came
along. |
But that doesn't mean the film industry has wiped out its
live-on-stage counterparts. Two hit Disney films, "Beauty And The
Beast" and "The Lion King," found new life as Broadway musicals, and
Mel Brooks revived his career by transforming his 1968 film, "The
Producers," into a hit musical.
The bottom line: If you have
a good product, you can lure the audiences away from the local
cineplex.
The Little Theatre of Fall River Inc. has a very
engaging product these days, appropriately titled "Blame It on the
Movies." In the spirit of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," the
theater has collected songs from old movies, dating from 1936 to
1985. The eight cast members, dressed as an usherette and seven
patrons, open in a dark movie theatre, watching the closing minutes
of "Gone With The Wind."
Then they take the audience through
60 years of movie history -- or, more precisely, movie music
history, lifting songs from every conceivable genre: classic romance
("Casablanca"), comedy ("The Road To Morocco"), mystery ("Laura"),
even westerns ("Singing Guns"). Theatre may feel like it invented
the musical, but Hollywood has demonstrated it can do a pretty good
job in this category as well.
"Blame It on the Movies" proves
that theater can compete on an equal footing with the big boys in
Hollywood. This musical revue is funny, classy and very
entertaining.
The show was conceived by Ron Abel, Billy
Barnes and David Galligan, from an original idea by Franklin R.
Levy. Jane Fiore Bigelow staged and directed it, with quite a bit of
flair and style.
The songs range from hits like "The Way We
Were" and "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (from "Footloose") to
standards like "As Time Goes By" and "Love Is A Many Splendored
Thing"; to a lot that have been long forgotten by all but the most
die-hard movie buff.
But they're all performed in a
thoroughly delightful way, with some first-rate singers, who bring a
lot of charm and elegance to the proceedings.
I particularly
enjoyed Jen Harris' beautiful voice as she sang "April Love," Cheryl
Field doing a humorous skit as she belted out "I Got The Neck of the
Chicken" (from the 1942 film "Seven Days' Leave"), and, best of all,
Jessalyn Sadler, who is very funny as the usherette, particularly
when she sings "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In A Hurry" (from
1942's "The Fleet's In") and "Jungle Love" (from the 1938 film "Her
Jungle Love").
No, you don't have to be a movie fan to enjoy
this nostalgic trip down memory lane. But it is a good reminder that
movies and theater can happily co-exist, even complementing one
another.
The show runs tonight and Saturday at 8, and Sunday
at 7 p.m. at the Firebarn, located at the corner of Prospect Street
and Highland Avenue. Tickets are $12. For reservations and
information, call 508-675-1852.
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| ©The
Herald News 2002 |
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