The Boyfriend Review

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MICHAEL W. FREEMAN, Herald News Staff Reporter

May 12, 2000

FALL RIVER -- Forty-one years ago, The Little Theatre of Fall River decided to stage the first musical since the group was formed in 1935.

They chose a popular show called "The Boy Friend," and put it in the hands of one of their veteran directors, Angus Bailey.

Janice MacDonald, who won the lead role of Maisie at the time, remembers it well.

"It was my first show with the Little Theatre, and it was a very well known musical," she said. "They needed someone who could Charleston. I said sure, I’ll give it a try. It was my first encounter with Angus Bailey."

Next weekend, The Little Theatre plans to honor Bailey, its past president, who died at age 80 last summer.

Bailey made his stage debut with The Little Theater in 1937 while he was a student at Brown University, and directed his first show for them in 1947.

To show their gratitude and continued love for Bailey, The Little Theatre plans to bring "The Boyfriend" back to the stage next weekend.

As an added tribute, eight of the cast members from the 1959 production -- including MacDonald -- plan to make cameo appearances in this one.

The others include John Cummings, Brud Hadley, Lois McCarthy, Peg Panos, Julie Rezendes, Louis Sanft and Ethel Winikoor.

MacDonald recalled that when she first went for her audition, Bailey asked if she knew how to dance.

"I kicked up my heels and he was happy with that," she said. "He handed me a script and said ‘Here, read this line.’ It happened to be in French, which turned out to be my favorite subject in school. So I read it, and he gave me the part. That was it for me. I‘ve been with The Little Theatre since I was 17."

MacDonald, who is co-directing this revival with Jeff Belanger, said it was also fitting to stage the musical in Bailey’s memory.

"Being dedicated to Angus gives it that much more of a thrill for us," she said.

"Every now and then we’ll do a show we did in the past," Belanger said. "Little Theatre wanted to do something because Angus was a member for over 30 years, and we wanted to dedicate one in his memory."

MacDonald said working on this revival -- and getting the opportunity to reunite with some of the original cast members -- has been a sheer delight.

"It’s terrific," she said. "I called Louie Sanft and left a message on his machine and said, ‘Louie, how would you like to get together and kick up our heels again?’ He called me back and didn’t talk. He just sang a few of the songs. It’s been so much fun, seeing everyone."

That play also brought back a lot of great memories about working with Bailey, a true theater connoisseur who founded a drama program at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1967, and staged 301 productions during his tenure there.

"Angus was the scariest director I ever worked for," MacDonald laughed. "He was a close personal friend, but he got more fun out of scaring people. He was a pussycat, but with a tiger’s exterior. He’d growl a lot, but always in fun. He loved theater. It was his first major love, and he loved to be around people who felt the same way.

"He was my mentor, and I’m sure everyone who was with him would say that. I miss him with my heart. He was so, so good to so many people."

This British musical, by playwright Sandy Wilson, had its premiere at London’s Players’ Theatre in April 1953.

It eventually had a run of 2,084 performances in London, and came to this country in September 1954. A rising star named Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut in this production.

It proved popular enough to have successful revivals in 1958, 1967, 1984 and 1994.

In 1971, director Ken Russell made it into a film starring Twiggy, Tommy Tune and Glenda Jackson.

Known as "a musical comedy of the 1920s," the play aims to burlesque the simple plots and formulaic tunes of the Busby Berkeley era.

The story is about how a lordly English boy and an aristocratic lady both pretend they’re much lower on the economic food chain in order to win each other’s hearts.

Along the way, the comedy is boosted by a score that includes "It’s Never Too Late To Fall In Love," "Won’t You Charleston With Me," "I Could Be Happy With You" and "A Room In Bloomsbury."

Belanger and MacDonald said "The Boy Friend" doesn’t aspire to be high art, classic literature or anything other than a good time.

"It’s just nothing but pure fun, a lot of the Charleston, a lot of tongue-in-cheek and slap-happy gags," Belanger said.

"It’s about mistaken identity, and it all washes out in the end with a happy ending. The show starts happy, gets happier and remains happy. It’s not a heavy drama. It’s very quick. Each act is less than an hour."

"I’d forgotten how delightful this musical is," MacDonald said. "It’s upbeat and it’s lilting and it’s clean cut fun. It has the innocence of the roaring ’20s."

The 44-member cast includes Loralee Levesque as Maisie, Veronique Sylvia as Polly, Marc Lalosh as Tony, David Faria as Bobby, John Moniz as Percy, and Melissa Barboza as Dulcie.

Jane Fiore-Bigelow provides the musical direction and Michael Coury is choreographer.

The show opens at Bristol Community College’s Margaret L. Jackson Arts Center next Thursday and runs through May 21. Performances are May 18, 19 and 20 at 8 p.m., and May 21 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $15, with discounts for students, seniors and groups of 20 or more.

For more information or reservations, call 675-1852.
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©The Herald News 2002

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