I thought I’d heard of every show, but Backwards In High Heels was new to me. As it turns out, this is a production which is jobbed in at Westchester Broadway Theater. It been seen around the country; Florida was a recent venue.
This musical takes its title from a quote from a 1982 “Frank & Ernest” cartoon about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: “Sure he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did—backwards and in high heels.”
The performers are first rate. This is the story of 15-year-old Virginia McMath who desperately wanted to be in show business—“The pictures, or Broadway.”
As the future Ginger Rogers, Darien Crago brings tremendous enthusiasm and joy to the role. She’s a very good singer and an absolutely knock-out tap dancer. She rocks the Charleston and treats the audience to cartwheels and a split. She simply melts our hearts. Even as she cuddles her Teddy bear, we have no doubt she’s getting out of Fort Worth, and as far away from Texas as her imagination can carry her. As her stage mom, Erika Amato is equally impressive. Her voice is truly extraordinary, and she brings a real warmth and sensitivity to what could be a strictly clichéd role.
The story is all too familiar. Lauren Bacall, among others, had a similar attachment to her own mother. Lauren (nee Betty Perske) took a variation of her mother’s maiden name when she entered show business, and her mother, in turn, was no more Mrs. Perske, but rather, Natalie Bacall. Lauren never saw her father after her parents divorced when she was five. As this musical illustrates, Ginger was also clearly dominated by her mother, and lacked having her father in her life.
As soon as we hear the distinctive “Aaaah!” we know that Ethel Merman is about to appear on the scene. Avital Asuleen not only belts out the tunes with vigor, but also brings humor and high energy into the production as she steps on the stage in a flashy red dress, in boots. She brings the brass, and makes it very clear that there’s a real moment when Ethel accepts Ginger; the two were in a production of Girl Crazy on Broadway in 1930. At WBT, there are some glaring flaws on the stage, none of which are the responsibility of the talented performers. The wigs are simply god-awful, and the dress at the beginning of the show is a dingy gray, nearly shapeless, and very unflattering. Crago deserves better, as do Amato and Asuleen.
A few of the songs, particularly “Domesticity” and “All My Eggs In One Basket,” don’t belong on the same stage giving voice to “Fascinating Rhythm,” “A Fine Romance,” and “They All Laughed, ” classics written by the Gershwins, and Berlin. On stage to begin the show is a huge sign saying “1941 Academy Awards.” To either side stand two huge Oscars. Rogers won “Best Actress” for “Kitty Foyle,” although she was undoubtedly known more for her ten musicals with Fred Astaire, here played by Director/Choreographer Jeremy Benton. Altogether, Rogers made seventy-three films, securing her place in the Hollywood pantheon of stars. AFI’s “100 years…100 Hundred Stars” list of movies actresses ranks Ginger Rogers at number fourteen; not bad for a little girl whose goal in life was to get out of Forth Worth to be in pictures.
