By William Wolf

ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY  Send This Review to a Friend

The art deco railway train curtain one sees on entering the theater is immediately eye-catching, and when the porters make their entrance from the audience, do their tap routine on stage, soon followed by the ensemble entourage dressed in William Ivey Long’s fabulous costumes, one already has the feeling that Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of the musical “On the Twentieth Century” is going to be rousingly entertaining. And it sure turns out to be just that, a sure-fire musical hit to brighten the season.

The more I enjoyed the show, the more I felt a note of sadness that Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who wrote the amusing book and lyrics, and Cy Coleman, who wrote the terrific score, are no longer alive to see what director Scott Ellis and others who share in this revival have done with their memorable accomplishment. I enjoyed the musical when it was done in 1978, and I like it even more now with this new cast and smashing train scenery designed by David Rockwell. The show is based on plays by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and Bruce Millholland, the original Broadway production directed by Harold Prince.

The show starts to take on strength with the appearance of Peter Gallagher as Oscar Jaffee, the flamboyant producer whose string of flops have made him a failure. His defiant song “I Rise Again” sets the character and the awaiting challenge, accented by his fine singing confreres, Oliver (Mark-Linn-Baker) and Owen (Michael McGrath).

But the show really takes off with the appearance of Kristin Chenoweth, first as pianist Mildred Plotka, then morphing into Hollywood star Lily Garland, who was once in love with Oscar, but now hates him with a passion and is involved with her egotistical boy toy actor Bruce Granit, played with over-the-top fervor by Andy Karl. The amusingly contrived plot as the Tentieth Century Limited train speeds from Chicago to New York involves Oscar trying to make a comeback by signing Lily for a new show, and of course, the rekindling of their relationship.

Chenoweth is a musical comedy wonder. She has a fabulous voice ranging to the high octaves. She’s a dynamo of energy. She is great with comedy, whether verbal or physical. She’s a laugh riot in the giddy, lavishly staged Parisian number “Veronique.” Or she can be wistful singing “Our Private World” with Oscar. Chenoweth gives a great performance that so far dominates the musical comedy season. She is tiny in size but super-large in talent and keeps the show bouncing along gloriously. She and Gallagher work extremely well together, and Karl makes a major contribution, as do all who contribute to this snazzy staging.

There is also an endearingly entertaining supporting performance by Mary Louise Wilson as Letitia Peabody Primrose, the religious, purportedly wealthy lady who fires up Oscar’s hopes by writing a five-zero check ( there’s the zingy song “Five Zeroes”) to finance his Bible-based play with Lily as Mary Magdalene. Chenoweth is hilarious as Lily imagining herself in the role. Wilson is wonderful singing Letitia’s big number “Repent,” as well as appealing with everything she does throughout.

Warren Carlyle has created impressive choreography and Donald Holder’s lighting design plays an important part in delivering visual satisfaction. One can’t say enough about William Ivey Long’s 1930s-style costuming, especially for the women. The entire look of the musical dazzles.

Cheers too for the four porters—Rick Faugno, Richard Riaz Yoder, Phillip Attmore and Drew King—who have some spirited tap routines and become audience favorites. I can’t resist observing that theirs is very contemporary racially mixed casting. In the 1930s the railway porters would most likely have been African-American, an incidental observation not meant to take away from the expertise of the four who help enliven this production.

The musical also reminds us of an era in which train travel was special. The Twentieth Century Limited was a popular train between Chicago and New York and celebrities would make the trip. During the course of the musical we see a miniature of a plane flying faster above the train, indicating the coming change in travel.

Any way you look at it, the show “On the Twentieth Century” is a helluva fun ride. At the American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd Street. Phone: 212-719-1300. Reviewed March 18, 2015.

  

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