Playhouse’s ‘Gigolo’ full of cheeky charm
“Gigolo,” the new Cole Porter revue at Winter Park Playhouse, was a featured show last summer at the Playhouse’s first Florida Festival of New Musicals.
If this de-lovely production is the end result of work started then, I say let’s get the next festival going — stat. (In fact, it’s just around the corner, Aug. 23-26.)
For “Gigolo” is a delight. There have been other Porter revues, of course, and his sophisticated tunes grace Broadway musicals from “Anything Goes” to “Kiss Me, Kate.” But “Gigolo,” as conceived by Paul Gilger, has a vibe all its own: more than a revue, but shy of a full-fledged musical.
Gilger, who also created the Jerry Herman revue “Showtune,” arranges a selection of Porter songs in such a way that they tell the story of a gigolo and the women in his life. It’s a simple idea but it pays off in smile after smile.
At the Playhouse, the show is boosted by Roy Alan’s light-as-air choreography and winkingly nostalgic direction, a topnotch cast and Ned Wilkinson’s orchestrations, which can make a trio of musicians sound like a chamber orchestra. (Wilkinson is a big part of that as he goes from instrument to instrument with aplomb.)
Daniel Cooksley’s chic, art deco set, based on a concept by Alan, sparkles. Costumes by Seth Schrager and Angelica Rose Trombo hit just the right note, and the Playhouse lighting has never looked better.
As the gigolo, Zach Nadolski combines a powerful voice with effortless charm. His co-stars each have their moments — and display spot-on comic timing — but Kelly Morris Rowan scores the biggest hit of the night with her shimmying rendition of “The Physician,” a lament about how her doctor loves her internal organs more than herself.
As with many musicals, the second act doesn’t feel as sturdy as the first. That’s partly the fault of the first act’s success: It has created such strong characterizations for the singers that you’re hoping their story will go deeper. In particular, there’s room for a meatier musical number when the tables are turned on the gigolo as he loses his heart.
Some of the second-act shtick doesn’t feel as buoyant either. The “flirt with an audience member and mime of the ‘call me’ signal” routine is played out. And an inspired comic bit about the gigolo’s … endowment … lands a solid laugh but then foolishly tries to repeat itself.
Still and all, a few nitpicks don’t dampen the enormous fun to be had in this bubbly confection.
Thinking about buying a ticket? Oh, do it.
Let’s fall in love.