Barry Manilow, the affable singing star who started his career by writing and composing ad jingles, decided to turn his wildly popular, Grammy award-winning song, "Copacabana," into a musical comedy (it is still called Copacabana. Here, Manilow's written the music and collaborated on the book with lyricists Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman, who wrote the aforementioned song. The show played for 18 months in London's West End and enjoyed a two-year tour through the United Kingdom; it kicked off its American premiere tour this past June in Pittsburgh.- Although Copacabana is neither great nor even good, the show has some fun moments and entertaining performances.
Manilow has the gift of creating and performing melodic, emotionally sappy songs that move an audience: Hence the number of screaming women at the Shubert, even though he was not there. This gift is not apparent in this show; but for "Copacabana" and, possibly, "Sweet Heaven," the 16 numbers are forgettable. However, they are sung loudly, which seems to be the bent of many new musicals today. The singers are so loudly miked, they could whisper and you'd hear them in the next county. Louder is not better!
There are a number of inconsistencies. For example, one song, "Sweet Heaven," has a second line that says, "I'm in Love Again." The first time it is sung it makes sense; the reprise of this at the end of the show does not compute because the hero has pursued his love all the way from the Copa in New York to Havana, Cuba to save her. Directed by David Warren and musically staged and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, pleasantly but all without surprise, this plot is a play within a play, and the scenes are reminiscent of many other musicals.á In the opener, a clever kind of They're Playing Our Song sequence, Stephen is a struggling songwriter, developing the song "Copacabana" and telling the story of Lola; a naive girl from the Midwest who arrives at the Copa in 1947 hoping to be a Copa Girl. She then meets Tony, a struggling songwriter. Both Stephen and Tony are played by Frank d'Ambrosio, who sports a big voice and a wandering accent, from Brooklyn to Southern. Darcie Roberts as Lola impresses with her comedic ability, reminding us of "I Love Lucy" episodes.
The auditioning scenes are cute but have all been done before, a la 42nd Street. Beth McVey as Gladys does her best with her number, "When You're A Copa Girl," which could have been a socco number but isn't. As Copa Manager Sam Silver, Dale Radunz is probably the best thing in the show, particularly in the song, "Who Am I Kidding." Philip Hernandez is a focused and scary character as Rico, the Italian nightclub owner from Havana, who kidnaps Lola while cruelly tossing aside Conchita, played convincingly by Terry Burrell. David C. Woolard's costumes are colorful and glamorous; ditto for Donald Holder's lighting. There are far too many staircases, however, in Derek McLane's set design.
We are delighted to see Adam Pelty, who plays a number of parts in the Ensemble, as well as filling the role of the Maitre d. He received kudos from us for his performance last summer at the White Barn Theater for The Abbott Touch. (My suggestion: revive Charley's Aunt with Pelty as star; he has Ray Bolger's charm and talent.)
