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The Most Happy Fella
Based on Sidney Howard’s They Knew What They Wanted
Book, Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Directed & Choreographed by Marc Robin
Music Direction by Erich Kunzel
At Ravinia Park
Highland Park, IL
Friday, July 20 at 8 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 45 minutes with intermission
One night only
The Most Happy Fella: The most splendid theatrical event of the summer of 2007
Dateline July 20, 2007: Ravinia Festival: The Most Happy Fella—is something to behold.
When you combine, a 44 member orchestra with several Broadway and opera voices with a contingent of major Chicago musical theatre talent under the smart, tight and innovative direction and choreography of Marc Robin—you’re in for a world-class show. Too bad The Most Happy Fella is only a one night event. Too bad Great Performances didn’t video tape this wondrous musical. I am grateful to Ravinia for allowing me to cover this thrilling show. I can’t remember liking a show more than I did this lavish piece. This show was one of the best I’ve ever seen!
The 1956 musical, an opera really, is Frank Loesser’s (Guys and Dolls) masterpiece. The Most Happy Fella combines Loesser’s classical training with his acute Broadway acumen to produce a “musical with a lot of music.” Fella has 32 songs ranging from heavy ballads to up-tempo dance numbers to rich operatic arias to cute harmonic playful tunes. The story is carried onward and the character’s emotional response to the action is clearly rendered with operatic devices such as leitmotifs, recitatives and singing dialogue. Filled with memorable songs like “Somebody, Somewhere,” “Standing On The Corner,” “Joey, Joey, Joey” and “Abbondanza,” Fella has a lush and amazingly innovative score that is structured as both a classic Broadway musical and a modern opera.
In order to make Fella work, it needs three things: one a full orchestra---Erich Kunzel’s 44 member orchestra kept true to Loesser’s initial orchestrations in a sweepingly powerful sound that filled the outdoor Ravinia pavilion marvelously. The second element needed to make Fella work are—strong voices, i.e. an “A” cast. Led by the 74 year-old marvel, George Hearn as the affable mench Tony—a middle aged farmer in search of love and a wife. Tony’s fear that his waitress love interest, Rosabella (the smooth voiced Sylvia McNair) will reject him if she knew he was old and Italian. Tony sends Joey’s photo with his love letters. His foreman and hunk, Joey (the powerful voice of Rod Gilfry) isn’t aware of the ruse until Rosabella shows up at the Napa Valley farm the night before she is to wed Tony. The deception unfolds in a workable story.
Fella is about love and forgiveness as it plays out in spirited celebrations featuring rich vocals from Hearn, McNair and Gilfry. The 32 songs offer a fine blend of styles from light comic to lush opera to haunting love songs. Marc Robin is the third element necessary to make Fella flow. The polish presentation with energetic choreography, cute comedic bits and stirring emotions come through smartly and flawlessly. Marc Robin needs to get a major Broadway show so everyone will enjoy his amazing talent as a director/choreographer. The guys knows how to stage a musical.
Robin’s use of many of Chicago’s finest dancers allowed terrific numbers such as “Standing on the Corner,” “Abbandanza, “ “Fresno Beauties,” “Big D,” “Young People” and “How Beautiful the Days” to spectacularly fill the large Ravinia stage. Paula Scrofano, David Girolmo, Scott Calcagno, Cheryl Avery and Don Forston contributed terrific work making this 32 member cast one of the finest assembled in recent memory.
A Great score, emotionally sung by strong voices, together with outstanding dancing mark The Most Happy Fella as a wonderful event. Too bad this show couldn’t be remounted in the Loop—it would run for months! Kudos to Ravinia for offering such a flawless theatrical work. Hopefully, next year they’ll find a major corporate sponsor willing to underwrite video taping such marvelous shows with a week or longer run in Ravinia’s pavilion. The PBS series Great Performances could feature these shows to their worldwide audience.
I’m sure a most happy fella for witnessing George Hearn’s The Most Happy Fella. Thank you Ravinia for such a world-class production.
Tom Williams
tom99@chicagocritic.com
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