Musical 'Smile' proves a forgotten treasure in Civic Theatre staging

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  Expert production displays its appeal
  
  Friday, January 10, 2003
  BY ROGER LELIEVRE
  News Arts Writer
  
  
  So is "Smile" the great American "lost" musical? It bowed with fanfare on Broadway in December 1986, and closed 48 performances later, reportedly due to backstage politics. It's seldom been performed by anyone since then.
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  If Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's production of the Howard Ashman-Marvin Hamlisch musical, which opened Thursday night at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, is any indication, its virtual disappearance from theater repertoire is a shame. Director/choreographer Ronald P. Baumanis and his well-trained cast have done a fine job bringing this hidden gem to Ann Arbor.
  
  "Smile" takes place during a teen beauty pageant set in Santa Rosa, Calif. It explores the friendship and competition among the girls vying for the title "Young American Miss," and also paints a not-always-pretty picture of the adults involved behind the scenes. Although 16 young women are competing for the ultimate honor, "Smile" focuses on two of them, Robin and Doria (Kristina Thompson and Kristin Ritter), who become buddies despite their different backgrounds. Meanwhile, tightly wound pageant coordinator Brenda Freelander (Elise Stempky), who once was runner-up in this same contest, is battling her own demons, in tandem with husband Big Bob (David Andrews), a typical small-town glad-hander beginning to question his faith in the American dream.
  
  Beauty pageants are always ripe for satire, and there's plenty of that here. But while satires often heap ridicule upon their characters, "Smile" does not, reserving its ammunition for the pageant phenomenon itself. It's easy to care about these people, especially when one contestant leaves the competition in shame after a cruel trick is played on her by one of the other girls.
  
  Although it must be hard to stand out in the pack when on stage with 16 other actresses, each pageant contestant made her role her own. In particular, audience favorites Lorna Colon (as contestant Maria Gonzales) and Alexis Merte (as Sandra-Kay MaCaffee) did an outstanding job, as did Thompson and Ritter. Stempky brought warmth to a role that could easily have made her character look cold and calculating. Andrews, a veteran area actor and the play's moral center, mixed just the right amount of regret into his portrayal. Three adolescent boys up to no good with a camera provided some funny moments in a show already filled with humor.
  
  Civic's production kept opening night miscues to a minimum; most were confined to the dismayingly sloppy opening number. Slide projections, although a clever idea, were too dark to easily make out.
  
  Beyond that, it was smooth sailing, breezily paced, well choreographed and well acted. The small band (keyboard, piano, bass and percussion/drums), directed by Jaunelle Celaire, proved once again you don't need a big orchestra to make a Broadway musical work.
  
  It's also interesting to hear some of writer Howard Ashman's earlier efforts, before he went on to pen his acclaimed songs for "Little Shop of Horrors," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin." He was a major talent, and his death, from AIDS in 1991, was a major loss.
  
  Meanwhile, this is a well-written and tuneful production, well directed and enthusiastically acted. If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, what will?
  
  "Smile" continues at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 E. University Ave. Call (734) 971-2228.