The Palm Beach Post

Matt Loehr’s magical energy

This dynamo lifts up new Maltz Jupiter production.

- By Hap Erstein Special to The Palm Beach Post Maltz

He has the grace of a Gene Kelly, the manic comic gifts of a Robin Williams and the cavorting abandon of a Groucho Marx. Is there anything the remarkably talented Matt Loehr can’t do?

Maltz Jupiter Theatre audiences have seen him, time and again, dazzle with his footwork and charisma in shows as diverse as “Crazy for You,” “The Music Man” and “The Will Rogers Follies.” So all they really need to know is he is back, as astonishin­gly entertaini­ng as ever in the rags-to-riches “Pygmalion” knockoff, “Me and My Girl.”

F i r s t wri t t e n i n 1 937, t h e n ex humed a nd rev i s e d i n t he mid-’80s to acclaim in London and New York, “Me and My Girl” is hardly a great musical, but it is a standout vehicle for a consummate clowning song-anddance man. You will probably wince at some of the hoary jokes, grow impatient at some of the book scenes and be stumped by the motivation for some of the ensemble dance numbers, but when Loehr is in the spotlight, such quibbling becomes irrelevant. Director James Brennan, who was featured in the Broadway cast, passes along the many time-honored comic bits which Loehr executes with precision.

He plays a happy-go-lucky Cockney bloke named Bill Snibson, whose life is turned upside down by the discovery that he is actually the next Lord Hareford. At least

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Did you see the Rockettes when they performed at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts a few years ago?

Did you see your first Broadway show at the Kravis?

Or your first “Nutcracker” ballet?

To celebrate the 25th season of the Kravis Center, The Post is sharing your Kravis memories.

Our favorite letters will win tickets to 2017 shows.

Send an email with “Kravis Memory” in the subject line to pbfeatures@gmail.com. Include photos if you have them, plus your name and the city you live in.

 ?? PHOTO BY ALICIA DONELAN. ?? Broadway performer Matt Loehr stars as an unrefined charmer who discovers he is royalty in “Me and My Girl” at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
PHOTO BY ALICIA DONELAN. Broadway performer Matt Loehr stars as an unrefined charmer who discovers he is royalty in “Me and My Girl” at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.

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