Despite the enjoyable and entertaining plot and characters, First Year Players’ Thursday-through-Sunday presentation of the musical ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ fell flat vocally.

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ follows two con artists, Lawrence and Freddy, who cross paths on the French Riviera. Lawrence Jameson (Kevin Slack) is a very successful swindler and has created a lavish life for himself off convincing young women to give him money for his cause, which is creating an army to offset some revolutionaries supposedly threatening him.

If that sounded far-fetched and overtly campy, that’s because it was.

Freddy (Eric Adamus), on the other hand, is a newcomer to the world of conning and when the two men meet, they quickly realize the south of France isn’t big enough for the both of them. What ensues is a battle to con a vulnerable woman. Winner takes all.

The play is based on a 1988 film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. The film was not a musical, but David Yazbek’s music and lyrics helped the film transition smoothly into a smash Broadway musical hit, which opened in 2005. Later that year, the show would be nominated for a whopping 11 Tony Awards.

Critics often moan when rights to recent Broadway hits descend into the realm of high school and other amateur musical productions, and rightly so. Students often try to tackle larger-than-life, mammoth productions like Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ or ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie.’ A choice in shows is based on their interest or appeal, rather than realistic thinking.
Unfortunately, FYP fell into that death trap this year.

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ came after the success of ‘Urinetown’ last year. FYP stuck to the same route of choosing a lesser-known comedy popular among those interested in the theater industry.

FYP is composed of non-theater majors who are freshmen and first-year transfer students. The staff is comprised of upperclassmen and previous FYP cast members, making the group almost a fraternity in its own right. With this in mind, it’s important to remember that no matter how the performance turns out, these students were in it for the experience.

While the majority of the show’s actors had strong stage presence and developed characters, vocal ability just was not on point. Many a note in ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ was cringe-worthy, and many an actress had the range of someone who’s never taken a voice lesson. In fact, one of the strongest vocal moments came from a solo from Heather Newkirk, a freshman music history major and ensemble member. Raw talent seeped through, which made the sometimes-painful performance still an enjoyable one.

But these students aren’t professionals. Their work can’t be compared to that of the drama department, where students spend every waking moment perfecting the musical theatre trifecta: acting, singing and dancing.

So yes, there were lots of missed notes. Yes, famed choreographer Jerry Mitchell would have cried had he seen some of the male ensemble dancing. Yes, I was left wondering how hard it was to do an eight-count of the tango. Yes, the lighting sometimes cast shadows on audience members’ faces. And yes, it looked like the female ensemble members were wearing prom dress-sale rejects.

But that’s OK. Because despite FYP’s numerous setbacks, it is just a group of happy kids who want to put on a show. Think of ‘Glee.’ We can’t all be Rachel Berry, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still give all the other kids a chance to shine.

In their own way, these actors did shine. Eric Adamus, a freshman advertising major, was perfectly lovable in his performance as the Zach Galifianakis-type con man Freddy. He was so adorable stripping down for sex; we were rooting for him. Kevin Slack, a freshman television, radio and film major, played Lawrence. He led the play swimmingly with a strong characterization. Brittany Hadley, a freshman music industry major, sang high notes that filled your soul. But Cole Tucker, a freshman mechanical engineering major, as Andre Banhouver was probably the show’s highlight with his accent mastery, vocal delivery and overall stage presence.

Sure, the show could have used some work. But the audience left the show with a smile, and as an actor, that was all you can really hope for.

gmillerj@syr.edu

 

Published on April 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm