Let’s cut to the chase. Maine State Music Theatre’s production of “Mame” is simply brilliant, engaging and dazzling.
This Jerry Herman musical – his 1966 follow-up to his 1964 hit “Hello, Dolly!” – is clearly a gem of the musical theater. There’s no denying that much of “Mame” is sentimental sweet, but with a libretto by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, combined with Herman’s songs, Charles Abbott’s directing and Connie Shafer’s choreography, this show is top-notch entertainment.
The show follows the antics of what happens when an innocent young boy, Patrick Dennis (played charmingly by Peter Bailinson) becomes orphaned and is sent to live with his flamboyant New York City socialite aunt, Mame Dennis (Karen K. Edissi). The youngster is introduced to a bohemian lifestyle that includes avant-garde artists, people who dance the tango and folks who party the night away and have breakfast at noon.
Tensions arise when the young boy’s legal adviser, Dwight Babcock (Glenn Anderson) insists that Mame’s lifestyle is not appropriate for a young boy, preferring to send him to a private boy’s school.
Mame is comforted through Patrick’s departure by his nanny, Agnes Gooch (a wonderfully comic performance by Kristin Huffman), her best friend, Vera Charles (played tremendously by a Broadway veteran, Susan Cella) and a newfound romance in Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (played by handsome actor Dan Schiff). Patrick, in his later years, is capably portrayed by Graham Allen.
MSMT veteran Karen K. Edissi, who many of us recall as K.K. Preece, is knockout perfection with her acting, singing and dancing abilities that make her a natural for the role of the anything-but-shy and free-spirited Mame Dennis.
Edissi is also blessed in performing some of the shows best numbers, “Open A New Window,” “My Best Girl,” “That’s How Young I Feel,” and “If He Walked Into My Life.”
Edissi is further blessed with an extraordinary supporting cast. Bailinson and Allen as the younger and older Patrick are just right in their parts.
Bailinson has a sweet innocence about him even when he shows his sophistication at being able to mix a whopping martini. Allen is very convincing as the worldlier Patrick who comes to question his aunt’s eccentricities.
Huffman is a gem as the social misfit, Agnes, who takes Mame’s advice to go out and explore the real world. (Wait till you see what she finds there!) Cella is the perfect comrade for Mame, especially in their trademark song, “Bosom Buddies.”
Scenic designer Daniel Ettinger’s sets are sparkling and sophisticated, matched by Irene Kay Peterson’s costume work. There’s great stage lighting compliments of Shannon Zura and Jeffrey S. Koger, and the orchestra is superb under the direction of Robert McNamee.
“Mame” runs for the next two weeks at the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus in Brunswick. MSMT offers matinee and evening performance with prices ranging from $26 to $46. For tickets and information, people may call 207-725-8769.
Dan Marois is an actor, writer and producer and owner of Main Street Entertainment and Mystery for Hire. He can be reached at [email protected].
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