After vacating its longtime home on Belmont, Bailiwick is back, and better than ever. Artistic Director David Zak has once again teamed up with Sally Deering and Larry Bortniker, the playwright and composer/lyricist of "Dr. Sex," Bailiwick's 2004 Jeff Award-winning musical. The result is the theater's first road show, a clever, cabaret-style revue, much in the same vein as "Forbidden Broadway." In Deering and Bortniker's latest collaboration, however, they skewer the genre that they're lampooning.
Smart, adult lyrics fill tunes that sound almost vaguely familiar, claiming to be songs cut from now-famous musical classics, like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Mame." They comically provide us with heretofore forgotten or unknown scenes, such as "Krakatoa," the original Bali Ha'i from "South Pacific," or the cut post-honeymoon scene from "Mamma Mia" entitled "See Ya in IKEA." More adult lyrics often surface, such as the song reportedly cut from "Finian's Rainbow" called "I Shake Me Green Shillelagh." Bailiwick's oft-explored GLBT issues also surface, such as in the forgotten ballad "Somewhere Else," cut from "West Side Story," and sung at the end of the rumble by two gang members who discover they'd rather love than fight.
In any parody the words are of prime importance, and Director David Zak has cast a five-member ensemble who both sing beautifully and articulate with razor-sharp diction. Kate Garassino's hilarious portrayals of Bloody Mary, Mother Superior and Kim from "Miss Saigon" thrust this talented actor/singer into the spotlight. Rus Rainear is a very funny Og the Leprechaun from "Finian's Rainbow," then, switching genders, becomes a most masculine "Annie Get Your Gun." Handsome Eric Martin and pretty newcomer Anna Stevens make the most of their roles with Brian Rabinowitz moving the show along as narrator and the supposed procurer of the lost songs.
As with "Forbidden Broadway," audience members familiar with the American musical songbook will have the most fun with this revue. However anyone who appreciates a likable, energetic ensemble of talented singers/dancers/comedians will enjoy the adult humor playing in Mary's Attic.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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