Reviews: Signature Theatre’s “Elmer Gantry” and “Sex with Strangers”
Stages are filled with sex, prayer and online encounters
You might not find Jesus after taking in Signature Theatre‘s Elmer Gantry, but you will certainly see the light in the production’s transcendent cast, led by two relative newcomers as well as Signature’s star powerhouse Nova Y. Payton.
Charlie Pollock sells the show just as convincingly as he sells people in the lower Midwest to give their time and hard-earned money to a troupe of religious revivalists during Prohibition. Based on a nearly century-old novel by Sinclair Lewis, which also inspired a 1960 film, Elmer Gantry was adapted for the musical stage nearly twenty years ago by the late John Bishop with composer Mel Marvin and lyricist Bob Satuloff. Though not without its problems, Eric Schaeffer’s decision to revive and, with the assistance of Bishop’s widow Lisa Bishop, rework the rarely-produced show ultimately pays off, thanks to his acumen for direction and casting, here with a whopping 20 actors.
A former preacher himself, Pollock plays the title character, a strikingly handsome, charismatic man who turns around the fortunes of a nomadic, evangelistic congregation through better promotion, stage management and theatrics. While Elmer Gantry is also not a total huckster, his motive isn’t really about saving more sinners or pursuing the pious life. Instead, he’s scheming to woo the woman he calls his “American Dream.” That would be Sister Sharon Falconer, leader of the flock. Gantry sizes up the situation and determines the way to win Falconer’s heart is by making her the star she’s long dreamed she’d be.
And talk about a star: Mary Kate Morrissey is sensational as Falconer, portraying her as a strong, even steely, woman who knows what she wants, but isn’t overly confident or cold about it — she’s open to new experiences. It’d be hard for anyone not to fall for her — even if she wasn’t a vision in costume designer Frank Labovitz’s sleek gowns. And I haven’t even mentioned that Morrissey also possesses the kind of wide-ranging, emotive singing voice that has the power to make some Broadway believers feel born again.
Elmer Gantry does suffer a few fumbles — most significantly a rather befuddling, anticlimactic ending. But it also starts rather slowly. Even with the double-dosed charm offensive of Pollock and Morrissey, the musical doesn’t fully win you over until we meet the Supremes — Mary, Epatha and Grace. The Washington sisters are a black trio Gantry enlists to add some pizazz to the all-white church choir. They don’t appear until halfway through the first act and it’s only then that everything starts popping, including Mel Marvin’s score, a stirring mix of country, rock, blues and gospel. Payton plays Mary, this trio’s leader, and thankfully she gets several moments to show off her high-pitched, elastic pipes. But Ashley Buster as Epatha and especially the expressive Daphne Epps as Grace do their part to make Elmer Gantry a revival worth singing praises over.
Elmer Gantry (
) runs to Nov. 9 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $105.50. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.
MEANWHILE, OVER IN Signature Theatre’s more intimate ARK Theatre, there’s another man pulling out all the stops to woo a woman. Laura Eason’s Sex with Strangers is an insightful, hilarious look at the state of sex and relationships in today’s information-overload Internet Age, where we can all-too-easily know too much about a person — while at the same time know next to nothing, at least when it comes to his character or intentions.
Holly Twyford plays Olivia, a floundering mid-career writer, who gets seduced by Ethan (Luigi Sottile) a popular blogger-turned-bestselling author in his early twenties. The two are stuck at a charming secluded cabin during a snowstorm. With no working WiFi, Olivia has to take Ethan at his word when he tells her he’s not the misogynistic womanizer from his writing. That’s just a hit-generating, money-making character, he tells her, while the real Ethan is a wannabe scholar and a fan of Olivia’s writing. The fact that he can quote from her one published book seals the deal.
Aaron Posner directs this funny but suspenseful two-hander, which skillfully advances in drips and drops, rarely in predictable ways. Twyford and Sottile are both captivating and convincing playing opposite types who are drawn to each other. Maybe the smart Olivia should have known better than to fall for such a promiscuous charmer. But in Sottile’s hands, Ethan isn’t a monster. Despite his outward, online exhibitionism, it’s hard to know exactly who he is, or what he wants from Olivia and their relationship. Let’s just say, it’s complicated.
Sex with Strangers (
) runs to Dec. 7 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $80. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.
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