The Solid Gold Cadillac
December 2, 2009 - January 10, 2010
Wednesday - Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 7 pm
Saturday - Sunday at 2 pm
Reviewed December 3 by
Brad Hathaway |
A Potomac
Stages Pick for Nancy Robinette in a role that seems as if it
were
written for her
Running time 2:00 - one intermission
Tickets $42 - $63 |
Click here to buy the script
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When a town is lucky enough to have an actress who is as delightful in light
comedy roles of mature innocents who outsmart supposedly superior foils as
is Nancy Robinette, it is the duty of local theaters to cast her in a
revival of George S. Kaufman and Howard Teichmann's 1953 farce about an
innocent and slightly daffy mature woman who, with her ten shares, shakes up
the establishment in a mega corporation. Studio has stepped forward to do
that duty, assembling a quality supporting cast and putting the show on its
feet in an elegantly designed setting for the enjoyment of all theater
lovers of the region. Robinette is so at ease in the role that it almost
seems as if it were written for her. She slips into a 1950s sensibility,
reacting to then-modern innovations such as a Dictaphone with a touch of
astonishment and placing telephone calls through an operator as if that were
the way she always does it. A feature of Robinette's skill at light comedy is
the ability to let the audience see the wheels of logic working in her head.
There are many lines in this play that you know are coming before she
delivers them, but their arrival gets a laugh specifically because you have
seen the birth of the thought. If the play isn't exactly constructed as
solidly as a Cadillac might be, the performance is golden. Go along for the ride - it is a fun
one.
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Storyline: The annual stockholders meeting of a mega corporation is
interrupted by a sweet old lady who owns 10 shares in the corporation and,
because her horoscope said it was a good day to take care of financial
matters, has come to the meeting and actually read the annual report. She
has some questions which are an embarrassment to the powers that be so they
try to silence her by hiring her in a meaningless position only to have her
turn it into a power base within the shareholders.
Director Paul
Mullins concentrates on recreating the experience of seeing the show when it
was new and fresh and attuned to the then-current events which it parodies.
He introduces no extraneous matters to help the audience connect the themes
to contemporary issues. This is a good thing since no such help is needed.
The issues of corporate responsibility and the battle between greed and duty
are too well known today to need any handy reminders. The original
production featured recorded narration ... an over-used innovation at the
time. It was radio star Fred Allen who delivered the slightly foolish
"Cinderella" narrative. Here it is Robert Aubry Davis who contributes the voice - a voice local
audiences will find just as familiar as Allen's was to the original Broadway
audiences.
Robinette is the reason for doing the show and she's on stage practically
the entire time (except when she's in the audience for the corporation's
stockholders' meeting that she so delightfully interrupts). Michael Goodwin
steps up to the role of a corporate giant who, through his experience in
public service in Washington, has discovered a new commodity - honesty. His
impressive presence makes it easy to believe that he might have been tapped
by a new administration in Washington to make the switch from board
room to cabinet room. The powers that be whom Robinette outsmarts are delightfully
played by David Sabin, James Slaughter, Leo Erickson and Paul L. Nolan while
Laura Dunlop and Russell Jonas make a pleasant couple in a slender subplot
of a secretary who attracts the attention of a mailroom clerk.
James Kronzer's sets capture a 50s corporate art-deco ambiance with dark
woods, frosted glass and aluminum detailing. The plush 50s feel is enhanced
through Alex Jaeger's period perfect costumes which seem as if they are the
clothes real people would wear to work in such a place. Erik Trester's
projections add to the feeling that we've slipped through a time warp into
the first Eisenhower administration with spot-on replications of early
television news programs. Local audiences get a kick out of the fact that
the anchors are real-life TV talking heads, Channel 7's Gordon Peterson,
Good Morning Washington's Doug McKelway and ABC's Greta Kreuz. The news
clips include a steps-of-the-courthouse interview filmed on the steps of the
Masonic Temple on 16th Street and two absolutely astonishing recreations of
airport scenes with the characters boarding a vintage DC 3 for a flight from
Washington to New York. The feeling of the 1950s is damaged, however, when
the map of the 48 United States shows the state abbreviations not
adopted until the 1960s. Written by Howard Teichmann and George S. Kaufman.
Directed by Paul Mullins. Design: James Kronzer (set) Alex Jaeger (costumes)
Mark Lanks (lights) Erik Trester (sound and projections) Jess W. Speaker III
(stage manager). Cast: Declan Cashman, Chelsey Christensen, Robert Aubry
Davis, Laura Dunlop, Leo Erickson, Daniel E. Flint, Michael Goodwin, Michael
Hammond, Russell Jonas, Daniel Kenner, Greta Kreuz, Doug McKelway, Paul L.
Nolan, Gordon Peterson, Nancy Robinette, David Sabin, James Slaughter. |
