Review: ‘Nice Work’ makes nice work of onstage slapstick

Music Theatre Wichita kicked off its 45th summer season with a big serving of dessert first. “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” a new 1920s-style musical concocted from vintage Gershwin songs, is a frothy, delicious delight that has a surprise in every spoonful.

And, boy, are there a lot of nuts – from a mouthy bootlegger masquerading as an insolent butler to “The Foremost Interpreter of Modern Dance,” who can’t make an entrance without it being a full Isadora Duncan moment. There’s even a little swinging from the chandelier – you have to see it to believe it.

Between the wacky comic sensibilities of actor-turned-director Larry Raben (best remembered here for his hilarious performance in “The Producers”) and the high-kicking, tap-happy imagination of frequent guest choreographer Peggy Hickey, the 2012 Broadway show charges along like a Marx brothers movie.

Raben provides lots of comic business and shtick for his actors to go along with the silly wordplay. He also gets roars out of subtle sight gags, from a wedding gown train that seems to go on forever to dancers popping out of a pink bubble bath like clowns out of a small car.

Based loosely on the 1926 “Oh, Kay!” with a snappy new script by Joe DiPietro (“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”), it’s a romp about society snobs and clever bootleggers mingling – and even falling in love – over a cache of illegal booze stashed in the basement of a Long Island mansion to keep it away from Prohibition vice cops and self-righteous temperance watchdogs.

New York guest star Clyde Alves, who was in the Broadway original, is a perfectly debonair charmer as Jimmy Winter, an amiable, wealthy playboy who ends up falling for a beautiful bootlegger between wives three and four. Alves has a substantial but supremely comfortable voice that makes all his songs sound natural and easy. Nothing is forced or too studied. The music just flows, from “S’Wonderful” to “I’ve Got to Be There.”

Alves is also a terrific dancer, and choreographer Hickey showcases him from Astaire grace to Gene Kelly athleticism in a melange of period styles from Charleston to Lindy to Radio City kick lines.

Anne Horak, familiar from past performances in “Singin’ in the Rain,” “White Christmas” and “All Shook Up,” plays the tomboyish, tough-talking but soft-hearted bootlegger Billie Bendix, who came from nothing but is determined to make her mark. Horak’s soprano is lovely and bubbly in breezy duets with Alves like “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and the title tune, but it can also turn exquisitely haunting for the likes of “But Not for Me” and “Will You Remember Me.”

Besides the romantic leads, the rest of the cast is decidedly all comic relief. But they are anything but minor characters. Each is majorly funny, both because of DiPietro’s script and the actor’s strengths. It’s a comic ensemble that may be the funniest thing you’ll see on stage this year.

James Beaman is bootlegger-cum-butler Cookie McGee, a wise-cracking, fast-talking chameleon with a penchant for making others say unexpected, embarrassing things. Beaman is hilarious, from his expressive, pliable face to his pinched, Buddy Hackett-type voice. He’s adept at good old-fashioned door-slamming farce.

Cookie’s biggest nemesis is Duchess Estonia Dulworth, a snooty, self-righteous Carry Nation wannabe fighting Demon Rum at every turn. Local favorite Karen Robu, known for her powerful, thundering mezzo (Mama Rose in “Gypsy,” Emma Goldman in “Ragtime”), also wows here in a slow-motion slapstick sequence as the Duchess loses control after the butler sneaks hooch into her lemonade. That one scene is worth the price of admission.

Timothy Hughes is endearing as the towering, aw-shucks bootlegger Duke, who confesses “I’m not good with words. Truth is, I don’t know many of them.” Jessie Peltier is ambitious showgirl Jeannie, who thinks “Duke” is a title instead of a first name and dreams of hooking up with him and becoming “Queen of Eng-a-lund.” Hughes and Peltier are a fun pair whose joy shows in their spirited dance routines. Check out how high the 6-foot-6 guy can kick!

Cassie Austin, stepping up from the resident company, plays Eileen, Jimmy’s latest fiancee, who is also a spoiled, narcissistic modern dance artiste. Austin is wonderfully over-the-top with verbal affectations that are constantly giggle-worthy.

The 19-piece orchestra, under solid control of music director Thomas W. Douglas, captures the variety and range of familiar Gershwin songs, but there are also some unexpected dips into his classical works (mostly “Rhapsody in Blue”) during scene changes for an extra thrill.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Review: ‘Nice Work’ makes nice work of onstage slapstick."