It's that time again. Time to get out and enjoy the nightlife in Houston. The cheerful delights continue as the familiar troupe at the Music Box Theater takes on their latest subject: “Songs from the Silver Screen.” To steal a line from the movie “Casablanca,: the cast has been able to round up “the usual suspects,” minus one, as cast regular Kristina Sullivan was granted a much-deserved vacation during this production. But all the regulars remain, including Brad Scarborough and Rebecca Dahl, the company's founders, along with Luke Wrobel and Cay Taylor adding to the fun. The merry atmosphere was quickly established with the cute and childlike performance of “The Rainbow Connection.” It featured great harmonies and solos and was a joyous opener that was topped by projections of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. A pleasant parade of film parodies and memorably famous quotations would follow. A clever spoof of the James Bond films was titled, “Tomorrow Never Says Never, and Also Never Dies.” It featured a fine performance of the song, “Nobody Does it Better” by Luke, as the cast performed a shadowy, slow-motion background mime of the action-packed shootouts reminiscent of the 007 films. Adding to that action were a few staticky malfunctions of the house microphones that were regrettable. A Luau Beach sketch was somewhat rescued by a nice duet of “Endless Love,” from Cay and Luke, which might have been improved with less fussy “business” and desperation during that beautiful song. A much more satisfying segment followed with a parody of “The Godfather” that was hilarious. Luke was marvelous in the title role, presiding over the wedding of his daughter, amusingly played by Cay in the role of the bride, hilariously named Mary Nara (with all due respect to my favorite spaghetti sauce). Brad was every inch their equal in his wimpy role as the slapped-around younger brother, Fredo. It was a comic high point as the Godfather lashes out, slapping Fredo around and scolding him for “…touching my daughter on her wedding day!” Of course Fredo is rewarded with the traditional horse's head as the Godfather proclaims, “I knew it was you Fredo.” Brad then moved on to a sensational and growling performance of “Pretty Woman,” while seducing a Pom-Pom girl in the person of Rebecca. His was a resonant, smooth, rich performance, with such a fine transition to “Unchained Melody” that it made me think, “This guy could be filling stadiums with that fine voice if he wasn’t here delighting audiences in this intimate venue.” Before intermission arrived, Rebecca would deliver a fierce, “Holding Out for a Hero,” and then there was a calming, “I Say a Little Prayer,” quartet to close out the act. Cay then provides a powerful performance of the song “Tightrope” from “The Greatest Showman,” and brings it to a light and airy conclusion. Rebecca hits a solid vocal homerun with a, “The Man That Got Away,” that would have made Judy Garland proud. Meanwhile, science fiction fans won't want to miss Cay’s performance as a tiny but hilarious E.T. Then Brad and Luke then give us two fierce and wild guys from Top Gun, with “Danger Zone.” Another parody titled, “When Harry Met Seattle,” features Cay with a wistful, dreamy and poignant, “Moon River.” Luke brings solid country flair that is perfect for Houston, when he sings the wonderful “Everybody's Talkin,” before moving on to a radiant, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” which blends in perfectly. Echoing that theme, we suddenly see Brad waking up like the sleepy Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” as he announces in wonder, “It wasn’t a dream! All I wanted was to get back to our theater.” That launches the cast into a sensational quartet of, “I've Had the Time of My Life.” The cheering audience seemed in total agreement.
