North Country Public Radio
August 24, 2015
This "honky tonk" musical runs at the Depot Theatre in Westport through September 6. Check the theatre web site for performance dates and times, as they vary.
The Depot Theatre is closing out their season with a lively production of the honky-tonk musical "Savin' Up for Saturday Night." The music and lyrics are by Richard Levinson, who also co-wrote the book with Jeff Goode. The musical is set in Ready, USA at the Honky Tonk Bar & Fill and yes, it's also a gas station.
The cast is strong and are all very good singers. Jonathan Hadley plays the flamboyant club owner and would-be star, Eldridge rousingly. He does a great job on "Trying to Get Over Me." The back-up is pretty great too. His ex-wife Lucinda is well-played by Katy Blake. She's especially good on "Too Early for the Blues" and "I Used to Love the Rain." Maggie Politi, a natural comic, does a fine job as Patsy, Eldridge's new girlfriend. I particularly liked "Now I'm Swingin'" and "She Wanted to Be a Singer."
As Doc the bartender and good old friend of everyone, Ben Loving is excellent. His amused delivery of "Let's Do Something Cheap and Superficial" is quite a contrast with the gentle and poignant "Small Town." Musical Director Joe Schermann cracked me up with his soulful "Whatever's Left of Me."
The set by Hadmar Designs is very good and makes the most of the Depot's limited space, with the keyboard and drums up left and the bar, fridge, and a table stage right. The walls are hung with album covers, posters, and a nifty longhorn skull. Deborah Hobson's costumes are good, especially Patsy's many and sometimes peculiar changes. As always, Jim Carroll's sound is excellent, as is Margaret Swick's lighting.
Director Kathryn Markey and her excellent actors have managed to create some nice moments of reality, such as Eldridge's low-key confession of how he really feels about Lucinda and the final scene between Doc and Lucinda. Her staging is also very good, both of the dialogue scenes and the songs.
The show is ultimately entertaining, especially the songs. There are definitely some toe-tappers in the score accompanied in fine style by Joe Schermann on keyboard and Craig Johnson on drums. It's a tuneful wrap-up for the Depot Theatre's 37th season.
On a scale of one to five the Depot Theatre's production of "Savin' Up for Saturday Night" gets four boxcars. For North Country Public Radio, I'm Connie Meng.
