This review has been reposted courtesy of the League of Cincinnati Theatres. For more LCT reviews click here to visit their reviews page.
Once again, with its studio production of 110 in the Shade, the CCM Musical Theatre Department demonstrates you don’t need an expensive set, 20 piece orchestra, or fancy pyrotechnic effects to create magic on stage—you just need a talented cast, tight direction, and an overlooked musical classic with a lot of heart.
110 in the Shade, which premiered on Broadway in 1963, takes place in a small southwestern town during a terrible drought. It focuses on the lives of Lizzie Curry, a girl whose father and brothers are trying to marry her off, and her relationships with the local sheriff File and charismatic con man Bill Starbuck, who poses as a rainmaker promising to bring a rainstorm for a hundred dollars. If this sounds a little bit like “The Music Man”—it isn’t. If anything, it is an anti-Music Man, with more focus on plot and characterization and a more mature book and musicality than many of the musicals of its time.
Like most of CCM’s studio musicals, this doesn’t have a big budget and relies on simple staging, clean but functional costumes, and two pianos rather than a large orchestra. But director Vince DeGeorge makes it all work by focusing on the powerful emotionality of the work and its deeply interesting characters. It usually goes without saying that the vocal quality of a CCM musical is top-notch, and this one was no exception. Kudos to vocal director Steve Goers for strong consistency in all the musical numbers. My only quibble with the vocals was that sometimes the singers’ lyrics got overwhelmed by the pianos, despite the fact that they were miked.
What stood out for me in this production, however, was the fine acting performances, led by Brianna Barnes as the vulnerable Lizzie Curry. John Battagliese, as the imaginative and cocky Starbuck, and Ben Biggers, as the emotionally scarred Sheriff File, were also effective. There were many fine supporting performances, in particular the exuberant Alec Cohen who played Lizzie’s brother, Jim. All these characters had strong emotional arcs that resonated with me and drew me into both their pain and triumphs.
110 in the Shade was an extremely satisfying evening of entertainment, and thanks to CCM for introducing us to this little known gem, which I hope will get more attention from theater groups across the country. When it was originally produced, it was overshadowed by its contemporaries like Hello, Dolly! and Funny Girl, but it deserves more recognition and a wider audience.
For more information on the production, click here.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 