REVIEW: A helluva "Town," but a bit of a yawn

"New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down. The people ride in a hole in the groun'. New York, New York, it's a helluva town!" Many will recognize this song but do you know from what? On the Town hit the Broadway stage in 1944 with music by Leonard Bernstein and book/lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. As a fan of the 1949 movie version with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as Navy officers on a whirlwind day in New York City, I was looking forward to seeing a production of On the Town at Bloomington Civic Theatre. Sadly, it fell flat and did not translate well. The focus of this latest version seemed to be on the choreography, which was nicely put together by Michael Matthew Ferrell. However, there were times where actors were attempting to sing and dance and they were out of breath due to lack of stamina. The night I went, there was a scene where one of the chorus girls jumped into a guy’s arms. I let out an audible gasp because I believed he was not going to catch her. Thankfully he did, but it was a close call. The show takes place all over New York, stretching across the ship yard, subway, a museum, a ballet studio, an apartment, a taxi, Times Square and Coney Island. It was hard to follow in a believable way. On Broadway or in a larger theater venue, I imagine the set pieces would be more elaborate. Bloomington Civic scaled back more than I thought they would, remembering other exquisite productions they have done. Their New York City skyline was very minimal, with many drop screens and cardboard cut outs. There were a couple of exceptions: The museum set was my favorite due to the complexity of it. The set was full unlike some others. The Coney Island scene had small white lights which outlined the rides and that was charming. Alyssa Seifert, who played subway beauty queen Ivy Smith. was the standout in the show. Between her voice, glowing smile and stage presence, she won me over. The music was beautiful but the lyrics did not sell me. The only song that stood out (besides the one listed above) was “Some Other Time” which was a sweet love song. At one point the actors on stage yawned and the man sitting next to me let out a loud yawn himself. Yes, yawns are contagious, but this show proved to be a bit bland. Go see the show for yourself, who knows, you may completely disagree with me and that is fine. I welcome differences in opinions when it comes to live theater!