My One & Only

Musical

Music & Lyrics by: Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin

Director: Michael Lichtefeld

Stratford Festival Of Canada

Runs: May 12^th to October 28^th 2007

Avon Theatre

4 Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

The 1920s were a fabulous time in musical theatre history; stories were being told twice the speed of sound, and in order to keep up the pace a composer and lyricist really had to entertain their audiences. My One And Only was the brain child of Ira and George Gershwin, and the Gershwin brothers adapted the story from a book by Peter Stone and Timothy S Mayer. The long running show seems to be the best of Gershwin – the greatest hits – if you will, as My One And Only showcases many of the Gershwin hits from other productions. Audiences can expect to sing along to classics like ‘’S Wonderful,’ ‘Strike Up The Band,’ ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It,’ ‘My One And Only,’ ‘Kickin’ The Clouds Away,’ and ‘Funny Face,’ to name a few.

The storyline revolves around Billy Buck Chandler’s dream of becoming the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, of course what would Gershwin be without a little complicated love. Chandler, a down-home-country-boy with a dream falls in love with Edith Herbert, a woman who swam the English Channel and who now stars in Prince Nicolai Erraclyovitch Tchatchavadze’s Aquacade as the star performer. Prince Nicolai has a hold over Edith that she can tell no one about; not even the young star-crossed lover Chandler who is pursuing her heart. Musicals aren’t so much thick in plot, and My One And Only has a lightly held together one in keeping. Musicals are about the music and dance; the voices, the tap, the women being bolstered into the air and to leave feeling lighter and happier – those seem to be the elements more important then plot in a musical and we all sit down knowing it.

The Stratford Festival of Canada seems to have found the right combination for My One And Only; one of two musicals performed this year. The sets were vibrant and screens were used to do many set changes. The sets were cleverly crossed between animation and surrealism, with big trains, planes and moons over Manhatten. The costumes were equally as vibrant and evoking of the 1920s. Cynthia Dale wears a gorgeous rich green outfit at one point contrasted to a red bob haircut.

The songs are ‘’s marvelous’ and the dialogue is ‘’s wonderful’ (sorry I couldn’t help myself) and very witty when delivered with the right amount of comedic timing. The orchestra was a delight to listen to and the chorus lines are alone worth going to see My One And Only! Particularly the dapper tap lines and the under water aquatic scene after the intermission are full of wonder and ‘how did they do that?’

The grand dame of Stratford, Cynthia Dale is in her ninth season has My One And Only as her starring vehicle for this year; she plays overly animated Edith Herbert. Dale seemed to hit the right note from performance to singing, as did her counterpart Laird Macintosh in his Billy Buck performance. Both leading performances seemed separately dynamic but evoked no chemistry together. Both actors put in a fantastic performance, but chemistry is a mysterious thing and seemed to be missing from the romance of this production.

Standout secondary performers were Mark Cassius as Mr. Magix, who was simply that, and David W Keeley as Prince Nicolai and Dayna Tekatch as Mickey, Billy Buck’s airplane mechanic.I saw Tetkatch in To Kill A Mockingbird as Mayella Ewell and thought she was fantastic but couldn’t see her alternating from such a disturbed character to such a light hearted one in My One And Only; Tekatch didn’t just pull off the feat, she performed famously well and particularly great in her ‘Funny Face’ scene with an equally comedic and excellent performance from David W Keeley as Prince Nicolai.

My One And Only at this years Stratford Festival of Canada is engaging in that light-hearted Gershwin way, and delightful to watch as each entertainer gives an exhausting and 100% effort performance!

Artistic credits
Director and Choreographer / MICHAEL LICHTEFELD
Music Director / BERTHOLD CARRIÈRE

Set Designer / DOUGLAS PARASCHUK
Costume Designer / DAVID BOECHLER
Lighting Designer / KEVIN FRASER
Sound Designer / JIM NEIL
Video Designer / SEAN NIEUWENHUIS
Stunt Coordinator / JOHN STEAD The cast
New Rhythm Boy / KYLE BLAIR
Mr. Magix / MARK CASSIUS
Edythe Herbert / CYNTHIA DALE
New Rhythm Boy / RAY HOGG
Prince Nicolai / DAVID W. KEELEY
Captain Billy Buck Chandler / LAIRD MACKINTOSH
Reverend J.D. Montgomery / MARCUS NANCE
New Rhythm Boy / JULIUS SERMONIA
Mickey / DAYNA TEKATCH

Ladies of the Aquacade…
Minnow / TESSA ALVES
Sturgeon / NAOMI COSTAIN
Flounder / ÉLODIE GILLETT
Prawn / STEPHANIE GRAHAM
Anchovie / LINDSAY THOMAS
Kipper / HEATHER E. WILSON

Also Appearing:
STEPHEN COTA, SEAN HAUK, PHILLIP HUGHES (Swing), VICTORIA LAMOND (Swing), CHAD McFADDEN, STEWART ADAM McKENSY, STEPHEN ROBERTS

Associate Director / PHILLIP HUGHES
Associate Choreographer / JOE BOWERMAN
Assistant Choreographer / DAYNA TEKATCH

Stage Manager / MAXWELL T. WILSON
Assistant Stage Managers / MARIE FEWER, HOLLY KORHONEN
Production Assistant / MATTHEW MacINNIS
Production Stage Manager / ANNE MURPHY