[NEOPAL]Berko review: DREAM A LITTLE DREAM (CPH)

[Roy Berko]

‘Dream a Little Dream’ enjoyable, but not compelling
at CPH

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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Question one:  What group had the musical hits,
“Monday, Monday,” “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “I
Saw Her Again,” “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some
Flowers In Your Hair)?”   Answer:  If you are a 60s
music fan or a rock and roll expert then you know it’s
The Mamas and the Papas.

Question two:  What quartet made up the group? 
Answer:  John and Michelle Phillips, Denny Doherty and
the dynamic 300-pound Mama Cass Elliott.

Question three:  What happened to Cass Elliott? 
Answer:  After the group broke up because of
relational infidelity, too much drugs and liquor and
internal wrangling, she went on to a successful solo
career.  In spite of rumors that she choked to death
while eating a sandwich in a London deli, Mama Cass,
who had an undetected heart condition, suffered a
fatal heart attack at age 30.

Question four:  What is the name of the nearly-true
musical based on the group and its members?  Answer:  
The original title of the work, when it opened in
Toronto in June 2001, was “CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’.”  The
present title of the production, which is now on stage
at the Cleveland Play House, is “DREAM A LITTLE
DREAM.’  Supposedly the name was changed  because
Michelle Phillips entitled her autobiography
‘CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’” and the musical’s producers
didn’t want any confusion (or, it can be assumed,
didn’t want a law suit).

Question five:  Why was the musical written? 
According to Doherty, one of two surviving members of
The Mamas and the Papas, the project began in the
mid-1990s when he decided to try to answer the many
questions he faced about the seamier side of the band.
 As he says, “Everybody knows the music and
everybody's heard something about something odd going
on in there, so I decided to write a play. The songs,
the music, tell the story. I'm just filling in the
spaces in between."   It is mostly a collection of the
band's songs connected by Doherty's storytelling.  He
has also thrown in a few tunes from the era like "The
Man Who Wouldn't Sing Along With Mitch" and "Twist and
Shout." 

He wrote the piece with Canadian playwright Paul
Ledoux.  The CPH and former productions of the show
have been staged by Randal Myler, who is noted for his
direction of ‘LOVE JANIS’ and ‘HANK WILLIAMS: LOST
HIGHWAY’,’ both of which had Cleveland Play House
runs.

The Play House production, which is placed on a
multi-level set with the band on stage and the
performers entering and exiting during the two-act,
two hour production, is more a review with verbal and
visual transitions, than a play.  

Doherty narrates and is backed up vocally by Lisa
MacISAAC, Doris Mason and Graham Shaw.  Only Doherty
speaks.  MacISSAC has a striking physical resemblance
to Michelle Phillips.  She lacks some of Phillips’
quirky musical sound, but those who don’t know the
group won’t know the difference.  Mason, who is a
somewhat slighter version of Mama Cass, sings well,
but just doesn’t have the power and dynamics of the
legendary Cass.   Shaw basically fades into the
background  as little actual attention is given to his
vocals.

Doherty's words are often illustrated by photographs
and hallucinogenic-inspired special effects that flash
across a huge screen on the theatre’s back wall.  
After a while the effect became redundant with many of
the pictures being repeated again and again. 

The horrible acoustics of the Bolton Theatre make the
drum’s beat predominant and the voices often get lost
in the high ceiling and the fake seating areas along
the walls.  It can only be hoped that before the
company does ‘MY FAIR LADY’ and ‘RABBIT HOLE” next
season a decision is made to stage the performances in
the Brooks or bring in a sound technician to redo the
acoustics of the Bolton’s original architectural
design.

The irony of The Mamas and the Papas was that the band
created such harmony while in such personal upheaval.
"We made that sound in spite of ourselves," Doherty
says. “When we sang, everything else became
secondary."   And, in ‘DREAM A LITTLE DREAM’ the same
thing happens.  Only the singing is really important
or meaningful. The spoken script is way too long and
too redundant.  It takes on the feel of a nightly
soul-searching for Doherty.  A chance to sort out the
haze of the drugs, drink and sex and try and put his
world in some kind of order.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  If you love the music of the 60s
and are really fans of The Mamas and the Papas ‘DREAM
A LITTLE DREAM’ is a should see.  If you like the
“inside gossip scoop” you’ll be turned on.  For the
rest of us, it was nice to hear the music, but the
play didn’t do much to “turn me on.”

‘DREAM A LITTLE DREAM’ continues at CPH through April
29.  For tickets call 216 795-7000 or go on-line to
www.clevelandplayhouse.com.



Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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