If tap dancing were easier, it’d be called basketball.
Don’t just look for Chicagoland’s top athletes on the United Center’s hardwood this season. They’re at Lincolnshire’s Marriott Theatre in the jukebox musical with a George and Ira Gershwin score, “My One and Only.”
The plot of this 1983 musical set in 1927 revolves around the difficulties of an aviator looking to make the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight while simultaneously wooing the girl of his dreams. The full synopsis is here.
But this show’s plot is of equal importance to, say, the time clock in a Bulls-Celtics tilt at the UC. Both provide a sense of order and purpose; neither is what folks talk about on the car ride home.
What they do talk about after this top-flight performance of “My One and Only” is the tap dancing. Jeff Award winners Andrew Lupp and Summer Naomi Smart are the stellar leading couple. Tony nominee Ted Louis Levy shines as Mr. Magix.
This production is a veritable tapfest, with solos, duets and full cast numbers loosely click-clacking Gershwin standards “S’Wonderful,” “Funny Face,” “Strike Up the Band” and others into the storyline. The three stars are well-supported by Marriott’s typically terrific ensemble and impeccably-cast comic foils.
For musical-theater patrons deciding whether to purchase a ticket to this show, two scenes make it a slam-dunk, “Yes.”
The playful splash duet of “S’Wonderful,” accompanied by Lupp and Smart’s aqua tap toward the end of Act I, is alone worth the price of admission. If typical Broadway performers are triple threats, this scene adds a fourth dimension. Kudos to brilliant director/choreographer Tammy Mader for making it so.
The second scene deserving inclusion in Chicagoland’s 2012 musical-theater highlight reel is Act II’s performance of the title song by Lupp and Levy. It’s a tap dance master class destined to bring the house down at every performance.
Perhaps Derrick Rose ought to take in Lupp’s and Levy’s performance between physical therapy sessions to give him an idea how much harder he must work to be these men’s athletic equal.
Together, these two scenes show off the full package of musical, artistic and athletic talent necessary to be a working musical-theater professional in a major market. While the two men steal the spotlight in this act two scene, throughout, the full work of this production’s leading lady deserves particular plaudits.
When Lupp’s Billy Buck Chandler calls her “a gift to this earth,” audience members nod at the double compliment—to both the gorgeous Smart and her character, English Channel swimmer Edythe Herbert. Indeed, her believable British accent, lovely voice and impeccable timing deserve to put Smart on the Marriott creative team’s short list for casting as Mary Poppins a year from now.
In all, “My One and Only” offers a sweet if rather predictable tale. But it’s the jaw-dropping choreography, not the final (Gershwin) score, that’s key to this evening’s entertainment.
“My One and Only” runs until January 6, 2013. Performances are Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Special performances are planned for the holidays. Ticket prices range from $41 to $48, with discounts available for seniors and students. Dinner-theater packages are also available. Parking is free. Tickets can be purchased at the Marriott Theatre website, box office or by calling 847-634-0200.
