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Gigi
Book & Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Lowe
Based on the novel by Colette
Stage Director & Choreographer Rudy Hogenmiller
Conductor Roger L. Bingaman
Produced by Light Opera Works
At Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson
Evanston, IL
Call 847-869-6300, tickets $45 - $65 -$85
Sunday, June 8 at 2 pm
Friday, June 13 at 8 pm
Saturday, June 14 at 8 pm
Sunday, June 15 at 2 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 40 minutes with intermission
Through June 15, 2008
Opulence and charm fuel Gigi
It is too bad that Light Opera Works can only mount six performances of their outstanding production of Gigi. Light Opera Works, under the steady leadership of Bridget McDonough and the artistic craftsmanship of Rudy Hogenmiller, fill a much needed niche—they produce original, un-cut versions of classical operettas and Broadway musicals with a full 28 piece orchestra using the original orchestrations and all the songs, underscoring and reprises. They also feature the complete cast often with their lavish sets and costumes—nothing is down-sized in a Light Opera Works production. This is an important contribution of the art of theatre—remounting a classic in all its original form. How better to preserve the legacy of the art? The key element here is the cost of the full orchestra. It is estimated to cost around $8,000 per day for a 28 member orchestra necessitating a top ticket price of $85! There must be a foundation or a corporate sponsor who will set-up and subsidize this important work? Shows like Gigi should have a 4-6 week run so that a wide audience can experience these classic musicals and operettas as they should be mounted. Light Opera Works’ Gigi could run for months at a downtown Chicago venue—it is that good!
Gigi is the stage version of the Oscar winning (for Best Picture) 1958 film by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe. Gigi is a high style ambience of Paris in 1901 featuring a large cast in full period costumes. Opulence and the good life of leisure are portrayed with gusto and verve. The stage version of the film contains several new songs. Light Opera Works’ production is first-class and splendidly produced. Rudy Hogenmiller makes full use of Loewe’s marvelous waltzes as he designed excellent choreography to depict the atmosphere of the leisure class at play.
Honore (the charmingly beguile Robert Hildreth) is the aged playboy narrator who has spent a lifetime as a bachelor in constant search of women. We love him as a playful rascal. He sings the now famous tribute to women “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” with warmth. His nephew, Gaston (the debonair Nicholas Foster) is bored with high society and the fickle women he beds each night. His duet with Honore, “It’s A Bore” is a cleverly whimsical testimony to the good life.
Next, we meet a precocious teen girl—Gigi (the golden voice Natalie Ford) being groomed by her aunt and grandmother to be a courtesan. She tells us about her state of mind with “The Earth And Other Things.” The humorous lessons Gigi receives from Mamita (Barbara Clear) and Aunt Alicia (Lo Ann Minds) are a hoot. We see the rules for entering the leisure class and realize that in 1901 French society the proper marriage was a women’s best bet for a good life.
The Parisian social scene is smartly shown in the show stopper “Paris is Paris Again” featuring a wonderful waltz and lavish costumes. Honroe narrates well. Gaston is aghast as his latest love ignores him—the whimsical “She Is Not Thinking Of Me” results.
Slowly, Gaston realizes that he has more fun with the tomboy-ish Gigi than his sophisticated ladies. His visits to Mamita and Gigi are worthwhile. He invites them to Trouville’s seaside resort. They celebrate with the rousing “The Night They Invented Champagnr.” At the resort, Honroe meets an old flame—Mamita and the two reminisce their youthful fling in the delightful song “I Remember It Well”—one of the shows best songs. Robert Hildreth and Barbara Clear nail the nostalgia marvelously. The romantic elements of Gigi bubble over constantly. Gigi sings her enjoyment in “I Never Want To Go Home Again.”
Act two finds Gaston finally realizing that Gigi is now a woman that he truly loves. He sings the shows lush love song with gusto as only a lover can—Nicholas Foster is terrific singing the love anthem “Gigi.” The cute contract negotiation song features fine moments as Gigi’s aunt and grandmother as they secure Gaston’s wealth for Gigi. Complications arise as Gigi rejects Gaston’s arrangement. But, in true romantic tradition, the lovers finally get together as Gaston proposes marriage to Gigi. Honroe celebrates getting old with his cute "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore."
This romantic coming of age stylized musical is a fun and tuneful affair long on spender, fine singing and vivid dancing. The full orchestra and the complete arrangements makes Gigi as musical treat. Loewe’s rich score leave us humming the melodies long afterward. This is a musical spectacle not to be missed.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2008
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