Theater review: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Campus Theatre in Denton

by Mark-Brian Sonna of John Garcia's The Column

A zany comedy like this requires excellent timing, and they were able to get their actors to deliver.

Fun, fun, fun!!! Loads and loads of FUN! Have I mentioned how fun this musical is?

Music Theatre of Denton (MTD) presents the delightfully zany musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Jeffrey Lane (at Campus Theatre through May 23). This musical is based on the film of the same name. It tells the absurd story of two con men. Lawrence is the successful and sophisticated heel that takes on a protégé named Freddy when he finds himself in an unusual predicament: He's accidentally gotten himself engaged to a pistol-carrying mama from Oklahoma. He needs Freddy to help him out of his con gone wrong.

Once they team up they each then try to one up each other as they try to con an ingénue with the wholesome name of Christine Colgate. Into the mix we also have a secondary story of Lawrence's assistant Andre and his eventual romantic entanglement with one of Lawrence's first con victims Muriel.

I kept thinking that this musical was very much like My Fair Lady except in this case, the master is teaching his pupil on how to become a more effective criminal.

Even though the story is predominantly about Andre and Freddy, this show requires a decent-sized ensemble. MTD has assembles a large cast full of wonderful singers. Not a weak voice in the bunch. They all perform with much gusto and spirit. Their joy is contagious.

As the sophisticate Lawrence, Tyler Donahue is deliciously glib. It would be easy to overplay it, but Mr. Donahue knows exactly the line which not to cross so that it becomes shtick. He has a wonderfully expressive voice, and his singing is as effortless as is his acting. He has quite a few musical numbers, and the transitions between his dialogue and singing is seamless. It is easy to see how he can charm the money out of his victims. His physical demeanor also remained consistent through the numerous dance sequences in the show. In other words, he danced as Lawrence. Frequently actors drop the character and try and do the steps. Mr. Donohue never once failed in delivering a completely authentic Lawrence. My only quibble had nothing to do with his performance. He needs to drop the white hair patch to make himself look older, it is distracting, or if it is to be kept: blend, blend, blend! If it was done to try and make him look older it was absolutely unnecessary, his acting had me believe he was much older then what he actually is. Yes, he's that good of an actor.

Freddy, his sidekick and later his nemesis, as played by Justin Harmon, is a panic. As the goofball lower class con artist, he also used his body to great comic effect. There is a sequence in which he plays Lawrence's make believe brother that induced gales of laughter.

I laughed so hard I actually snorted. Fortunately everyone else was in an uproar so they did not hear me.

He's supposedly a little crazy in the head; but just seeing his posture, his knocked knees, his hyper-extended neck made you know he was not quite "right" even before he opened his mouth and said anything.

Later on as a wheelchair bound veteran with supposedly no sensation on his lower half, he found every possible bit to do that would induce hysteria in the audience. He also has a tremendous singing voice. Like Mr. Donohue, his singing was simply an extension of his character.

With these two chewing the scenery so effectively and giving such stellar performances, it would make it difficult for anyone else to reach their level of comedic perfection. This said, the rest of the principals were also good, though not quite to the same level. This is also partially due to the book: Lawrence and Freddy are given the best lines and lyrics.

Jolene Oaks, the pistol carrying heiress was played with much gusto by Stephanie Felton. Her signature song, "Oklahoma," was an absolute stitch. The characters Muriel and Andre played by Mandy Raush and Kenny Fudge have their outrageously funny moment in the song "Like zis, like zat."

Christine Colgate was the only character that felt slightly ill defined. Kelsey Macke has a very pure voice that perfectly captures the sweet innocence. In my estimation her performance didn't capture enough the ingénue quality needed. She's a fine actor, but at times she seemed too sophisticated and worldly in the way she carried herself. Her character needed to be, as were the rest of the characters, more cartoon like, here she gave a more nuanced and "real" performance then the "goody two shoes" and "wide eyed innocence" requirement of the role.

This critique aside, there is no doubt she is overflowing with talent, and I would love to see her again in another show that would require more depth and subtlety. Or simply do a concert of songs or release an album, her voice is that good, expressive, and unique.

The ensemble was full of performers that delighted in their constant change of garb and characterization. There are so many delightful little moments that quickly happened that to list them all would be impossible. This ensemble did an excellent job of filling in those minor roles that required only a line or two. It was fun watching them change characters so quickly.

Bill and Vicki Kirkley did a wonderful job of staging the production. They know exactly how to create an effective sight gag. A zany comedy like this requires excellent timing, and they were able to get their actors to deliver. Though the show's opening was a bit muddled and lacking in energy overall, it definitely kicked into high gear by the third song and stayed there and zipped along quite nicely.

The scenic design was effectively designed. Not the greatest or most spectacular set I've seen, but it served the purpose of the evening, and never got in the way. This musical requires various locations, and with the simple movements of the stair case and the rotating balcony we were able to know in an instant exactly where each scene took place.

The costuming by Brianna Limb was overall spot on. While the leads aren't required to change clothes much, the ensemble has changes galore. Ms. Limb also knows how to create humor in her costumes. Freddy's demented brother with two layers of underwear was guffaw inducing as well as the church choir robes that appear briefly.

If there were weaknesses in the show it was in the choreography, the lighting, and the horns.

Lighting by Vicki Kirkley was a bit dark at times for my taste. Part of this was the heavy dependence on follow spots that weren't always following. Much of the musical takes place in the French Riviera. This is not an area of dappled sunshine but of intense sunshine. The stage needed this lighting to glow and never quite did.

The choreography by Lisa Racine-Torre had its clever moments, but without enough frequency. Many of the songs are parodying musical styles, and while I got what she was going for, her concepts never fully realized. Also the dancing was severely under-rehearsed. And while they are known as the Music Theatre of Denton, and singing is their priority, the ensemble needed to be made up of dancers not singers because there are enough large scale dance sequences. The ensemble does a bang-up job with the vocals, but for those musical numbers we need not have great voices, but really good dancers.

Obviously Ms. Racine-Torre had to work with the cast that was given to her, and she thankfully did not created choreography that was over the abilities of her singers, but she needed to be more of a drill sergeant, or perhaps have been allowed to do her own casting for the ensemble since they would have to dance that much (on this I'm speculating, for I know not how the show was cast, but it seemed that the dancing ability was low on the list).

John Norine Jr.'s musical direction was very good. He kept his tempos at a clip and maximized his orchestra. This said, there were a few sour notes peppered throughout the evening by the horn section. Not enough to ruin, but enough to be noticed.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not commenting about the overall experience of going to MTD. They were so gracious and inviting, but it wasn't just me that they were treating that way; everyone coming in to the theatre was being greeted warmly and effusively.

It's one of those little touches that makes going to the theatre so enjoyable. I live nowhere near Denton, and for me it was quite a drive, so to get there requires some planning and time. They definitely made it worth my effort, and to top it off they had a good show too!

I highly recommend this musical. You will laugh, laugh, laugh. You will have fun, fun fun. And, if you are like me, you'll definitely want to go back and see another show at MTD. They are worth the drive if you are nowhere near them!