Playwright: David Landay and Lawrence Kasha; Score by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul. At: Circle Th., 7300 W. Madison, Forest Park. Phone: 708-771-0700; $24-$26. Through Dec. 23
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will never be considered a high art musical. It wasn't even an original stage show to begin with, but a screen-to-stage adaptation of the classic 1954 MGM film musical most famous for Michael Kidd's athletic choreography.
The 1982 stage incarnation of Seven Brides… lasted less than a week on Broadway after receiving lukewarm reviews, causing some cast members of the closed show to picket The New York Times for 'killing family entertainment.' But Seven Brides… went on to have a long and healthy life in regional productions.
Circle Theatre seemingly made an odd choice to get hitched to Seven Brides ... for the holiday season. The musical's pedigree isn't the best, nor would it seem possible for the show's requirement for a huge cast to squeeze onto Circle Theatre's post card-sized stage.
But Circle Theatre defies the odds. The surprising result? Pure marital bliss!
Circle Theatre has a hoot performing this retrograde cornball musical by playing up the silliness of it all. As a rootin' and tootin' family-friendly adaptation of Plutarch's Rape of the Sabine Women ( mispronounced by the characters here as 'Sobbin' Women' ) , one tends to forget the so-so score and the stereotyped gender roles.
Set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1850s, Seven Brides… shows how grown orphan Milly ( Rachel Quinn ) marries Adam Pontipee ( Eric Lindahl ) who fails to mention his six other uncivilized alphabetically Biblically named brothers he lives with. A battle ensues between Millie who tries to teach her brother-in-laws etiquette to woo the town's sparse population of marrying-age women, while Adam prefers the brute force technique as told by Plutarch.
Director/choreographer Kevin Bellie makes it all work with an energetic and lovely cast ( particularly the sometimes shirtless men ) who sing nicely and deliver the material with a winking eye to its goofiness. The cramped space for dancin' and fightin' may not allow for the athleticism of Kidd's film choreography, but Bellie and his crew still raise the energy despite the crowded conditions.
In the teeming cast, several ensemble members stand out. Lindahl's Adam shines with his lovely tenor voice, while Quinn's no-nonsense Milly is strong.
Adam Pasen has fun butching it up as the brother Ben, Shawn Quinlan is a wonderfully madcap Caleb, Mat Labotka milks the jokes out of the unfortunately named Frankincense ( named since there were no Bible 'F' names ) and Tony DiPisa makes for a strong voice of reason as youngest brother Gideon.
High art it ain't, but Circle Theatre's Seven Brides will surprise you with its country charm and eagerness to please. It may be a bit crowded, but Seven Brides makes for great company this holiday season.
