Is an old-fashioned, entertaining musical comedy that also teaches the importance of strong family values your idea of light, summer entertainment? Then hurry up north to the Marriott Lincolnshire and see "State Fair." Filled with over a dozen familiar songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein vault, "State Fair" is a loving portrait of mid-twentieth century Americana.
It's the summer of 1946 and as the Frake family prepares for their yearly trek to the Iowa State Fair, each member hopes something special will happen. Matriarch Melissa Frake wants to finally win the blue ribbon for her homemade pickles and mince meat. Papa Abel is banking on the same for his prize hog. Siblings Wayne and Margy dream of excitement and magic with their high school sweethearts. Amidst candy apples, ring toss games and tractor pulls, excitement and magic do indeed happen. Ribbons are won, dreams are realized, love blooms, hearts get broken and mended, and everyone in the family leaves the fair having learned a little more about life.
Excellent performances are turned in by the entire ensemble, especially veteran actors Mary Ernster and Roger Mueller as Melissa and Abel Frake. Their chemistry as middle-age parents who are still very much in love (musically displayed in their duet "Boys and Girls Like You and Me") charms the audience. And whether they are bantering about a missing ingredient from Melissa's mince meat recipe or tenderly discussing their hopes for their two children's lives, we become nostalgic for those close-knit families of yesterday.
Matt Raftery shines as the couple's young son, Wayne. He is an appealing young actor who is convincing as he struggles to win over an older cabaret entertainer, winningly played by Roberta Duchak.
But the real star of this production is lovely Johanna McKenzie Miller as Margy. Miller's winsome looks, the honesty with which she delivers both lines and lyrics, her dancing talent, and her reactions to the changes in her life create a strong character who is both real and memorable. "It Might as Well Be Spring," the composing team's only Oscar-winning song, is given a haunting new spin by this talented young actress.
It's always exciting to see how the Marriott Lincolnshire design team transforms its theater-in-the-round space into a thrilling new environment for each show. Thomas M. Ryan, Diane Ferry Williams and Gregory Isaac (designing sets, lights and props respectively) don't disappoint, creating both the charm of the Frake rural farmstead and the brilliant, eye-popping locales of the fair's midway. Nancy Missimi once again works her magic through fabric to evoke a colorful, postwar nostalgia in costume.
"State Fair" is a welcome addition to the Chicago area summer lineup of lighthearted family diversions, from an era when musicals offered you a song or two you could leave the theater humming.
Playing at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre; 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; (847) 634-0200; $42, with dinner theatre packages and student and senior discounts available. Running through June 29; 1 p.m. & 8 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 5 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. & 5 p.m. Sunday.
