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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Mercury’s ‘Me and My
Girl’ gets high Marx<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Times </I>papers<I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> </I>8/13/09</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Those
familiar with the Marx Brothers movies from the 1930s and 1940s will take
particular pleasure in the version of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Me
and My Girl</I> playing on the Mercury Summer Stock stage in
Parma.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Me and My Girl</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> was first produced in 1</SPAN><SPAN
lang=EN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">937,
with music by Noel Gay and book and lyrics by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas
Furber.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It was revised and revived
in London and Broadway in the mid-1980s.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The play is set
in England, where a family of snooty aristocrats discovers that the legitimate
heir to the title of Earl of Hareford is a smooth-talking cockney hustler.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Enter Bill Snibson.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Before the estate can be passed to young
Bill, he must be deemed fit and proper by the Duchess and Sir John. The Duchess
is determined to make a proper gentleman of Snibson. Sir John is more willing to
accept Snibson and his brassy girlfriend Sally as they
are.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In the end, Bill
and Sally learn that becoming gentrified has its advantages and the upper-crust
discover the simple joys of regular people.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This frothy confection is ideal for a
Marx Brothers make-over.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The Marx Brothers
introduced a highly irreverent, absurdist brand of comedy to the vaudeville
stage and silver screen.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They
mocked serious institutions and serious people, particularly the very pompous,
very rich and very respectable.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In
their film <I>Horse Feathers, </I><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">higher education was </SPAN>ridiculed.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In <I>Duck Soup, </I>government
officials were lampooned.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In <I>A
Night at the Opera,</I> patrons of the arts were the target of the Marx
Brothers’ trademark quick wit, acerbic wordplay, and absolutely outrageous and
socially inappropriate antics.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Just like a Marx
Brothers movie, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Me and My Girl</I> is an
odd compilation of fast-paced dialogue laced with rapier one-liners (Lady
Jacquie: “I am not one to be simply tossed aside.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Bill: “No, you are to be thrown with
great force.”), saccharine-sweet ballads, and huge madcap musical numbers that
arrive with little provocation and even less
justification.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>To bring this
old chestnut of a musical to life and counterweight some of its more monotonous
moments, director-choreographer Pierre-Jacques Brault appears to have
wholeheartedly embraced Marxism.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Every performer
buys into a prescribed zaniness, as if the atmosphere at Hareford Hall was
saturated with nitrous oxide.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
very clever staging and choreography, and the simple but effective set by Zach
DeNardi, are all designed to showcase the kind of controlled lunacy found in
Marx Brothers films.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In his
delightful portrayal of the cockney charmer Bill, Brian Marshall channels all
four Marx Brothers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He lofts each
one-liner with Groucho's sardonic understatement.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He fails to comprehend social
conventions or proper English language and makes up his own like the
faux-immigrant Chico.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He shameless
mugs and bears the boyishness of chronic mischief-maker Harpo.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He has the suave good looks of a
romantic lead, ala Zeppo.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Not all of Mr. Marshall’s
pratfalls and folderol work, but there is never a dull moment.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His characterization nicely complements
the more subtle comedy delivered by the exceptionally talented Jennifer
Myor.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As Bill’s cockney girlfriend,
Ms. Myor demonstrates a real penchant for physical humor, but she is at her best
center stage and singing. Her “Once You Lose Your Heart” is breathtaking.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The sizable ensemble all
have interesting business to perform, and do so with energy and finesse.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The oddball “The Sun Has Got His Hat On”
—an ensemble musical number that displays Mr. Brault’s pendant for fun
choreography and schadenfreude—is executed without a shred of
self-consciousness, which is remarkable.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Stand-out performances
include Bailey Carter Moulse as Lady Jacquie, who attempts to seduce Bill
throughout the show, and Brett Parr as her preppy boy-toy Gerald.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Their comic timing as pampered elite and
their song-and-dance expertise are outstanding. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>As Parchester, the family
solicitor, Dan DiCello is a hilarious running gag.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hester Lewellen misses an opportunity to
be Margaret Dumont, who always played the rich dowager cluelessly absorbing all
of the Marx Brothers’ mockery.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Still, Ms. Lewellen is charming as the
Duchess.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>As with other Mercury
productions, the costuming by Margaret Ruble is delightful and the pit, under
Eddie Carney’s direction, is excellent even though instruments are woefully
underrepresented.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Me and My Girl</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> is a wonderfully quirky summer
entertainment that gets very high Marx.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>On stage until August 22, it closes out Mercury Summer Stock’s
season.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>