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There is a very good reason why members of the audience feel
they can't help but dance up the aisles after the curtain falls on this
exuberant, ebullient effervescent revival of this classic 1944 musical about
sailors on leave looking for love. It would be enough if you only had the
gorgeous score by Leonard Bernstein to lift your spirits, but there is the
warmly funny book written by geniuses Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and the alternately
robust and dreamy choreography created by Joshua Bergasse to further enrich a
show that may be familiar to many. Just about every aspect of this musical that
has come to Broadway by way of a well-received summer production at Barrington
Stage in Massachusetts, is perfection as directed by John Rando.
There is
nothing summer-stock-ish about it visually. Its wonderfully mobile, spectacularly
stylized scenic and projection designs by Beowullf Boritt are a plentiful,
eye-filling delight, as enhanced by Jason Lyons' sparkling
lighting. But best of all is the unusually
large and versatile cast, all of whom have been winningly costumed to reflect
the 1940s by Jess Goldstein. Standout
among them is the sensational Tony Yazbeck, as Gabey the gob in search of his
love Miss Turnstile, as played to perfection by the lovely New York City
Ballet's principal ballerina Megan Fairchild, in her Broadway debut. Comical
show-stopper Jackie Hoffman deserves high marks for playing three equally
hilarious roles. And just think what a twenty-eight piece orchestra does for
such memorable songs as "Lonely Town," "Lucky to be Me,"
and "Some Other Time." It's enough to keep you swooning through the
crooning in this thoroughly joyous entertainment.
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