©American Theater Web
Oct. 28, 2001


Red, Hot & Blue
By Andy Propst

It’s difficult to suppress the slight feeling of unease at the opening of the Paper Mill Playhouse revival of Cole Porter’s 1936 musical, Red, Hot and Blue, which opened over the weekend. Rather than a traditional overture played by the orchestra, director Michael Leeds and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler have five members of the male ensemble, clad in striped prison uniforms, sing and dance their way through portions of the Cole Porter score. It’s a cute way to begin, almost too cute, reminding one of a bad opening to an Academy Awards ceremony.

The good news, however, is that shortly after this, Debbie Gravitte comes onstage and the musical begins to take flight. Gravitte enters in a tailored white suit with her vibrant, shoulder-length red hair. She plays Nails O’Reilly Duquesne, a one-time manicurist and now wealthy widow. She’s come to the prison with paroles for the inmates because she needs them for a charity she’s created, one that will help to rehabilitate criminals.

The men are loath to go with her and give up their shuffleboard, deck chairs and swimming pool. Nails, desperate for their cooperation, agrees to have the paroles made temporary, and the musical is off and running. The convicts and her debutante friends begin to mingle and to set the wheels in motion, raising the money for the charity.

The fundraising gimmick that is decided upon is a nationwide contest to try to find ‘Baby,’ a girl with whom Nails’ attorney grew up and one whom he promised to marry when his father was dying. The attorney, Bob Hale (Jim Walton), does not know the girl’s name nor her whereabouts. The only identifying characteristic of the young woman is the imprint of a waffle iron on her derrière, a scar from an accident she had when she was four years old.

Of course, Nails initiates this contest only out of her sense of nobility. She’s actually in love with Bob herself and most of the musical is spent trying to get Nails and Bob together. There are also two subplots involved. One concerning Nails’ butler, a pickpocket named Fingers (Michael Gruber), and her best friend, Grace (Felicia Finley). The other concerns the Federal government’s deficit and the Senate’s attempts to get a piece of the action from the contest to balance the Federal budget.

This latter plot gave original bookwriters Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse some room for light satire, for instance, when the Supreme Court rules the contest to be unconstitutional as it might ‘benefit the American people.’ However, the satire is a minor part of the musical, which is lighter than air.

Leeds and company have kept the entire score from the original Red, Hot and Blue which includes such standards as ‘It’s De-Lovely’ and ‘Down in the Depths’. They’ve also peppered it with other Porter standards such as ‘You Do Something to Me’, ‘Most Gentlemen Don’t Like Love’ and ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’. The creative team has also integrated numbers that are not as familiar such as ‘It Ain’t Etiquette’, ‘Five Hundred Million’ and ‘I’m Throwing a Ball Tonight’. The result is a charming Cole Porter songbook. The thing that is terrific about the production is that all of the principals sound as if they should be singing these songs from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s and that there is little sense of ‘modern’ training in their vocal sytlizations.

As the fulcrum of the piece, Gravitte is exceptional. As costumed by Ann Hould-Ward, she is the epitome of a woman who grew up poor and has discovered the joys of newfound wealth. She can be gracious and sophisticated, but one is constantly aware of the street fighter that lurks just below the surface. At times, Gravitte reminds one of a young Bette Midler, mixing the naughty with ‘high class.’ Vocally, she maneuvers through a wide range of styles from torch song (‘Down in the Depths’) to the Act I finale of ‘Ridin’ High’, which she belts out superbly.

Bruce Adler, who plays the leader of the convicts, is a funnyman’s funnyman. A sequence in which he interrogates himself on the stand in a Senate hearing brings the house down as he plays both attorney and witness. Gruber and Finley, in the unlikely pairing of con/butler and debutante, have an amazing chemistry on stage. From the instant they begin sparring, one can see the romantic sparks flying. When they finally admit to one another late in Act Two that ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, the relief that the two finally admit their love for one another is palpable. Gruber also has a pair of specialty dance numbers during the course of the show that he performs with aplomb.

As Bob, Jim Walton sings and dances beautifully. His boyish good-looks serving him well and his delicate tenor lending acts as a nice balance to Nails’ street-savvy.

Blankenbuehler’s choreography, with the exception of the rather trite opening, is delightful and runs a wide range -- from period dances to moves that bring Bob Fosse’s choreography to mind. What is invigorating about many of the dance routines is that he has staged them so that there is a sense of character for each member of the ensemble rather than having each singer/dancer performing in tandem.

Leeds’ adaptation of the book leaves a lot of the original corniness in place, which is okay. The jokes make one smile, if not burst out laughing. An early example is when one of cons says to Nails, ‘So you’re a philanthropist’ and she indignantly replies "I NEVER cheated on my husband.’ Leeds’ direction is economical and keeps the show moving at a pace that never feels rushed, but never gives the audience time to think about the silliness taking place on stage.

Visually, the creative team has kept in step with the overall tone of the show. Kenneth Fox’ sets are painted caricatures of the musical’s various locales. He uses primarily a muted palette of pastels that are then highlighted by Hould-Ward’s distinctive costumes (she manages to find many creative ways of playing with convict stripes) and Ken Billington’s evocative lighting.

Perhaps, the opening of Red, Hot & Blue does exactly what it should do. It tells the audience that it is in for an evening that is filled with good tunes and a musical that does not take itself too seriously. If this is what was intended the Paper Mill succeeded admirably. Beyond the opening, however, the Paper Mill has served a much greater purpose. They’ve put a joyous and well-performed musical up on their stage and are giving audiences 2 ½ hours of musical bliss from a simpler and slightly less troubled time.


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