Musical enjoys revival at Thousand Oaks theater
By Cary Ginell soundthink@aol.com

Long considered a "B"-level Broadway musical, "110 in the Shade" experienced a trifecta of misfortunes when it made its Broadway debut in 1963, including opening one month before the assassination of President Kennedy, losing its leading lady for three months to a broken ankle and going up against such razzle-dazzle blockbusters as "Hello, Dolly!" and "Funny Girl."

It is currently being revived on Broadway and proving to be an unjustly obscure classic, with a beautiful score by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones ("The Fantasticks") and a sensitive book by N. Richard Nash, based on his play "The Rainmaker." If nothing else, the Conejo Players Theatre's recent production of "110 in the Shade" was timely, considering the weather we've been experiencing.

The story concerns a Depression-era drought in the mythical Texas ranch town of Three Forks Junction. The heroine, Lizzie Curry, is approaching middle age, and her loneliness and despair have made her sour, cynical and distrustful.

Her sympathetic father, H.C., and brothers, Jimmy and Noah, want her to get married but can't penetrate her sullenness.

As Lizzie, Melora Hutton is sparkling, able to easily transform herself from cynical spinster to vivacious vamp when attention is paid to her by visiting con man Bill Starbuck, well played by Patrick Foley. Starbuck challenges the rainstarved townsfolk that for $100 he can make it rain; despite Lizzie's protests, H.C. takes him up on his boast and forks over the dough.

Starbuck is a poor man's Harold Hill ("The Music Man"), full of glib charisma and fast talk. "The Rain Song" is the show's answer to "Ya Got Trouble," although in this show, the trouble is real and not fabricated.

Aaron Vidal portrays Sheriff File, a lawman looking to apprehend Starbuck. File is attracted to Lizzie, but a divorce robbed him of his self-esteem. Vidal's authoritative performance as File helps balance Starbuck's idealistic bravado as the two men vie for Lizzie's affections.

As Jimmy Curry, James Cluster is delightfully naive, and as positive and trusting as his sister is negative and antagonistic. He and his bubbly girlfriend Snookie are the only people not affected by the town's drought-ridden malaise.

Abby Collins plays the giggly Snookie, and she and Cluster make an attractive and effervescent couple. Not quite so effective is Dustin Velasquez as older brother Noah. In a role that calls for the character to treat Lizzie with tough love, Noah comes off as just plain mean.

No fault of music director Zachary Spencer, Schmidt and Jones' lush Western-flavored score really requires a larger orchestra to be fully effective; with no string section, the nine-piece pit band is simply unable to communicate the beauty of songs like Lizzie's aching "Love Don't Turn Away" and Starbuck's wistful "Evenin' Star." The up-tempo numbers fare better, especially Lizzie's "Raunchy," in which she coyly vamps about, imagining herself as a flirtatious hussy.

Set designer Dick Johnson is to be commended for his stark and effective town layout, with its ramshackle buildings and a huge yellow spotlight on the backdrop, serving as the merciless sun.

Lizzie falls for the idealistic Starbuck, who teaches her the wonders of dreaming, nicknaming her Melisande. With stars twinkling in the background and the disk that was the sun turning into a shining moon, the magic in the air is reflected by the song "Everything Beautiful Happens at Night," sung by the townsfolk in one of the show's most enchanting moments.

In the end, a coincidental downpour not only affirms Starbuck's self-proclaimed stature, but also washes away Lizzie's parched, personal drought.

"110 in the Shade" helped signal a change occurring in Broadway musicals in the 1960s, reflecting worlds that weren't rosy, freshly painted romantic comedies.

Life is often mundane and dreary, heroines are plain and not glamorous, and not everyone lives happily ever after. Still, a Bill Starbuck or two would do many of us good, as the Conejo Players proved to its audience on that steamy summer evening.

"110 in the Shade" continues through Sat., Sept. 22. Visit the Conejo Players Theatre online at www.conejoplayers.org.