Playwright: book, music & lyrics by Jon Steinhagen
At: Porchlight Music Theatre at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont
Phone: 773-327-5252; $20
Runs through: March 10
BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE
If Jon Steinhagen had just set out to replicate the lighter-than-air vaudevilles popular in the 1920s—often titled no more than the producer's 'follies,' 'vanities' or 'scandals'—his triple-threat musical revue would have been home free. If he wanted to make a satirical commentary on national politics as it existed during the Harding administration ( 1920-1923 ) and its parallels to our own times, that would have made for flawed, but still engaging entertainment. But Steinhagen's ambitions also compel him to break with period by incorporating into his text dramatic conventions that ultimately prove obstructive.
Our premise is that it is October 1923, two months after the death of president Warren G. Harding, and that his attorney general, in an effort to quell the rumors of governmental misbehavior, has mounted a press conference in the form of a Broadway bio-extravaganza. Most of the key personnel—First Lady Florence Harding; attorney general Harry Daugherty; and assorted mistresses and cabinet members—portray themselves, but we are given to understand that certain roles are played by hired actors—the late chief-of-staff, obviously, as well as Daugherty's shadowy 'roommate'. In the course of the action, however, some of these personae are called upon to double as other significant figures—oil magnate Henry Sinclair standing in for Herbert Hoover, for example. And just in case we aren't confused enough by this who's-on-first, the players frequently break from their 'script' to deliver personal observations—yes, just like in Thornton Wilder's The Skin Of Our Teeth.
Of course, audience members have the option of abandoning any attempt to make sense of the story, instead just enjoying Steinhagen's eminently hummable songs. These include such generic vo-dee-oh-dos as the Charleston-tempo title song, the slinky Mama's Got A Great Big Mouth, and the four-part patterer Who Put The Tea In The Teapot? ( However, look for the homophile What Could Be More Natural? to steal the show. ) Brenda Didier enlivens The President's Walk with catchy hand jive, while director Steve Scott and pianoman Nick Sula keep the pace brisk for the major portion of the almost two-hour running time.
With the addition of an intermission where the score all but proclaims one and excision of the lethargic Ukelele Song, Porchlight Musical Theatre could have the companion piece to Assassins that it envisioned. A CliffsNotes orientation to the show's multiple prototypes in the playbill, and it could have something more.