It’s hard to follow that story up, but the Boulevard Theatre’s production of “Saturday Night” comes close as a tale of intrigue. Originally conceived as a full musical with costume and scenery changes, cutbacks in local arts funding almost caused the cancellation of “Saturday Night” again.
But with a few changes and some reworked staging, “Saturday Night” changes quite interestingly with an attitude befitting of the show’s can-do attitude.”Saturday Night” tackles that most familiar of musical themes — love — in the setting of New York City in 1929. And between looking for companionship in the New York Times on a Saturday night and hoping for a get-rich-quick scheme on Wall Street, there’s a lot of dreaming going on for the group of Brooklyn friends that the show features.
The biggest dreamer of them all being Gene (Jason Powell) who not only organizes the scheme based on Wall Street info he’s heard, but also owns a tuxedo for the sole purpose of pretending to be a member of high society.
The plan’s going great as he meets Southern belle Helen (Kristen Pawlowski). Except it turns out Helen is just another Brooklynite looking to break into the finest clubs.
Despite their shared deceptions, both manage to fall in love, though Gene still can’t give up on posing as an aristocrat.Though not as ambitious as their buddy, the rest of the gang are equally pathetic when it comes to love and money. Hank, (Jake Russo) the only married man in the bunch, has a lot to keep secret from wife Celeste (Jamie Gordon). And Celeste’s friends get split into fractions to share among the remainder of guys in the group.
The first act is quite light, free-flowing and shows a lot of promise in the early music of Sondheim. His lyrical genius is evident in the song “Class” as he manages to rhyme “peignoir” with “Renoir” and “In The Movies” effortlessly references Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky.
And the full cast numbers such as “Delighted I’m Sure” and “Montana Chem.” are a preview of the polyphony and wit that Sondheim would later excel in.
The second act features a more serious tone that just feels a little disjointed among all the bustle of the earlier numbers and lacks a strong emotional resonance. But the show finishes up with a vibrant few numbers that end up making the show more of a love letter to Brooklyn than anything else and restore the musical’s earlier breezy tone.
The cast works together quite well and a few performances truly shine. Powell gives Gene a great sense of fear and bravado as the lovable compulsive liar. And though not featured for most of the second half, Matthew Ecclestone is wonderful as the suave and superior Bobby, especially while explaining how to woo women in “Exhibit A.”
But the most memorable aspects of this production of “Saturday Night” are the corners the Boulevard Theater cuts to save money. In place of scene changes, cards with the names of different locations are used to indicate changes of scenery.
Musical stager Bryce Lord serves as narrator and jazz singer when necessary and musical director Donna Kummer gets included into a few numbers herself. And director Mark Bucher adds in some playful shots by having the production start with the cast holding scripts then taking it away and a self-conscious reference to actors playing multiple parts.
These shoe-string budget touches add to the style and attitude of “Saturday Night” and help the production stand out. It may not be Sondheim’s deepest play, but it’s a wonderfully rollicking show.
“Saturday Night” will run through Sunday at the Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre. 2252 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Tickets vary in prices. Call 744-5757 for information.,”Matthew T. Olson”
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