New Girl in Town
Bob Merrill (Music & Lyrics); George Abbott (Book)
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| Allison F. Rich & Chris Vettel |
A down-and-out, former prostitute returns to seek out a
father she hardly knows; goes to a local bar on New York’s seedy dockside to
await him; and orders not one, but two (and thinking about three)
whiskeys. The ol’ Swedish dad -- a salty
sailor who likes flirting with local women of the night and is now confined to
working on a river barge – comes looking for the little girl he once abandoned
whom he now thinks is a nurse in Minnesota.
The two meet but not until the sailor’s common-law wife has already
discovered (between the second and third whiskeys) that she and the new girl in
town share a common past – a secret the older ex-strumpet may keep as long as
her will to stay mostly sober remains firm.
Such is the set-up for the 1957 Bob Merrill (music and
lyrics) and George Abbott (book) musical, New
Girl in Town -- an
overall much cheerier, more upbeat version of Eugene O’Neill’s dour and serious
1921 play, Anna Christie. With a rousing, dance-filled, opening
number by the dock’s teasing streetwalkers and ogling sailors entitled “Roll
Your Socks Up,” it is immediately clear that this 42nd Street Moon
offering will be a toe-tapping, fun outing even if there may be some revelations
to come that cause some temporary hiccups and heartburns along the way. After all, this is a musical of the fifties
when happy endings are a sure-fire guarantee.
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| Chris Vettel |
With sad eyes gazing in wide search of some unknown horizon,
the bearded, wizened Chris sings in a deeply rich, emotionally wavering voice
about his “Anna Lilia” as he is “looking for memories not there” of a daughter
not seen in fifteen years. Singing and
speaking in an accent authentic of a Swedish immigrant of the early 1990s to New
York’s Lower East Side, Chris Vettel as the old sailor opens his heart in
genuine welcome and love to the daughter he has hardly considered for so
long. Immediately he now becomes
protective, ready to guard her against any advances by young sailors the likes
of whom he once was.
 |
| Joshua Marx |
One such young, strikingly handsome seafarer is Matt, whose
first glance of the older Chris’s Anna leads him immediately to sing, “I look
at her and melt like I am butter in the sun” (in “Look at ‘Er”). As Matt, Joshua Marx employs a slightly cocky
but yet immediately likeable personality to compliment a singing voice that is
also contagious in attraction, with an ability to trumpet with clear conviction
his feelings for this mysterious girl he suddenly meets. In his enthusiasm, however, Mr. Marx has some
tendency to over-sing a bit and also speaks in some un-determined, often
inconsistent accent (Is he Irish with his coal-black hair?) that at times makes
it difficult to understand some of his words.
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| Allison F. Rich |
The ‘girl’ for whom he quickly falls and the one her
now-devoted dad is bound to see he does not marry is Anna, played with absolute
confidence and striking style by Allison F. Rich. Amid fog and the sound of gulls on her first
trip on a barge with father Chris, Anna sings one of several songs (“It’s Good
to Be Alive”) in which Ms. Rich’s full, clear resonance rings forth with truth
and talent. Earlier, with some
tongue-in-cheek and eyes that sparkle with fierce brightness, Anna sings about
a supposed life “On the Farm” from the Minnesota where she was actually a woman
of the night, employing broad, bold notes to sell the number. Later, once love seems to have left her, she
sings with reflective soul-searching a moving “If That Was Love” that
solidifies Ms. Rich as the true star of the evening.
 |
| Judith Miller |
Making her own bid for notice on this stage is Judith Miller
as Chris’s common-law wife, Marthy, a role she seems to be losing as he makes
room in his life and small abode for the now-returned, now-adored daughter,
Anna. Ms. Miller’s Marthy has a smile
that shines big and bright when she is happy around her dockside friends and a darkened
snarl that furrows deeper the more she drinks when her jealousy of the
intruding Anna gets the better of her.
With a voice pleasantly guttural just enough to authenticate “Flings” (a
song she sings about her past with fellow women of the night), Marthy also
offers a fun, homespun, flair to her duet with Chris in “Yer My Friend,
Ain’tcha?”
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| Members of the Ensemble |
Much of the evening’s energy comes from an enthusiastic ensemble
of six. All members bring strong voices
for both invigorating harmonies and spotlighted solos, popping personalities to
play a variety of parts, and terrific abilities to carry out the snappy,
well-coordinated choreography of Kelly Cooper.
Particular group standouts include the more formal dancing in “At the
Check Apron Ball” and the full-out stomping and stepping in “There Ain’t No
Flies on Me,” both sung with pleasing aplomb and vigorous harmonies. Michael Birr, Mark J. Enea, Ashley Garlick, John-Elliott
Kirk, Laruen Meyer, and Elise Youssef each deserve recognition and kudos.
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| The Set Designed by Mark Mendelson |
In departure from a 42nd Street Moon history of minimal
scenery, the set of New Girl in Town
is a much-welcome addition to the otherwise, consistent excellence in music and
choreography that the company’s loyal audiences have become accustomed. Mark Mendelson has created a sea-weathered
scene of wooden docks full of ropes, nets, and crates; a local bar for sailors
and their gals; and a general feeling of the early days of the past century –
the last aspect greatly enhanced by the colorful skirts and seaworthy duds
designed by Bethany Deal. Ryan Weible provides
the ripple effects of water as part of his impressive lighting design, with
Daren A.C. Carollo as director and Dave Dobrusky as music director (and
accompanist extraordinaire) ensuring a quick-paced, well-sounding,
well-executed one-act musical evening.
The New Girl in Town
in some ways is a bit of a museum piece.
There is not a lot of depth of meaning or substance for today’s world. The songs for the most part are pleasant
enough but not exactly ones remembered once back on the street outside. The happy resolution occurs too quickly and
too easily after the heroine has been quite severely abused and rejected by her
would-be lover. But our toes still tend
to tap, our chuckles flow easily, and our smiles do broadly appear with that
final kiss – and in the end, a pretty good time is obviously had by all as 42nd
Street Moon once again revives a musical mostly ignored by all other stages.
Rating: 3½ E
The New Girl in Town continues
through April 16, 2017 in production by 42nd Street Moon at the
Eureka Theatre, 215
Jackson Street, San Francisco. Tickets
are available online at http://www.42ndstmoon.org/
or by calling 415-255-8207.
Photo Credits: Ben Krantz Studio
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