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Indy.com
Today:
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
4600 Sunset Ave., Indianapolis
(4 ratings)
Comedy about two con artists who take on the lifestyles of the rich and shameless -- and end up with a lot more than they bargain for. Presented by Broadway Across America.
- Event URL:
- www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com
- Category:
- Entertainment
- Subcategory:
- Theater
- Price:
- $22-$65
- Contact phone:
- (317) 239-5151
- Errors?
- Report here
User Rating
i love freddy
I saw this show on Tuesday and thought it was great. My favorite character was "Freddy" and the actor who plays the role is hilarious!
Don't be conned by the SCOUNDRELS!
How appropriate that we have a show about con men in the "Broadway" Series this year. Because it is exactly that… A big con. If you decide to brave the snow to see DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS be forewarned, this show is like an extremely good college production. All but 3 of the cast look to be under 24 and the read as inexperienced. The choreography is clean, the set and lights are pretty, the girls are tall and hot, the boys are too. But the show lacks…well a star. Oh it has one, but not where it needs to be. On Broadway it had John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz (LAST 5 YEARS, WICKED) as the 2 con men originally played my Michael Cane and Steve Martin in the movie on which the piece is based. The personality and talent of those 2 men would carry the weakest of scripts through a rough sea. Well, we don't have them here. There is a warmth and audience has for a star… they can come out on stage and take a dump and they will still love it. It is magic… "Oh look, Doris it's the THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN guy."
This is a star vehicle with no one to drive it. No bad blood for Jamie Jackson (who?...right) the guy in the Lithgow role.(the poster still looks like Lithgow). Sort of like when they were still using the pictures of the Broadway cast of FULL MONTY for the tour and they had not been near the show for 4 years. MONTY, incidentally, by the same composer, David Yazbeck, unlike MONTY this score is all over the ballpark, sometimes hitting homeruns "Here I Am" and "Dirty Rotten Number" and others foul balls "What Was A Woman To Do" and "Chimp In A Suite".
I had mentioned that there was a star and there is. The only problem is that she does not arrive until fully 3/4 of the way into the first act. By that time you could care less about anyone in the show. It is very tongue-in-cheek in style as there is very little "fouth wall" meaning the main characters don't deny they are doing a play. They comment on it. Which can work, if when they are not commenting they are committed to the other "world" the are creating on stage. In this case I did not believe any of them. They just delivered all their "laugh" or "punch" lines flat out to the audience as if to say… "these are the jokes folks". And then they would wait….and…no laugh…and…then go on with the line like "stupid Hoosiers don't you know this is funny stuff?" and the next time they would push it harder…wait…titter…hold. Signs of inexperienced and definitely not Broadway caliber performers there were times Suzanne Sole who played a rich crass American was saying her stuff so flat out if there had been more people on stage you would not have know who she was talking to. But, I digress… the star. Jenny Gulley who plays Christine the young, fresh "soap queen", plays her moments with honesty, looks people in the eye, and …gets her laughs as results, big ones. I addition to having a super set of pipes she literally cons the show right out from under the rest of the cast.
Here is the deal. This is a non Equity tour. And I will be honest. I am an Equity Actor. So, yes I have a bit of an ax to grind. But, recently while I was in FL I happened to see the non-union tour of BEEHIVE and it was terrific. I also did some non-union touring back in the stone age as well. My gripe is this… It is like you have gone to St. Elmo's Steak House and ordered a nice rib eye. (Being a person working in the arts I have never been to St. Elmo's so let's say it costs 40 bucks.) So, while you are sitting there St E's runs out to Ponderosa (a fine restaurant as well) and buys a rib eye for12, re-plates it and serves it to you as your 40 buck rib eye. That is what is happening with SCOUNDRELS and later in the season with THE WEDDING SINGER. And there are plenty of other options that we COULD have that are what they advertise Broadway shows. If they stopped calling if The Broadway Series that would solve a lot… not the union jobs that are being lost. But, a lot of the false advertising. So, if you ask me the true dirty rotten scoundrels are Broadway Across America because if they would not book the tours the tours would not exist. Or at least not as they do by killing of the union jobs.
The Yummiest Scoundrel of All
Jamie Jackson is perhaps the greatest actor I've ever seen in any show, ever. He's also handsome and very, very well-endowed. Perhaps you were sitting too far back to notice.
- J. Jackson
Theater review: "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"
Even among con artists, it takes one to know one.
Therein lie the premise and the dubious partnership in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," the comic musical inspired by the 1988 movie about two flim-flam men who hope to find their fortune, with a little help from a few unsuspecting rich women on the French Riviera.
While the debonair Lawrence Jameson pretends to be a fallen prince, seeking to recapture his kingdom or to fund charities, Freddy Benson simultaneously takes the low road, shaking down dames with stories about his ailing grandmother.
When the men meet, they decide that, rather than compete, they will work together. That seems plausible, except for their faulty assumption that there will be honor among thieves.
In the Broadway Across America -- Indianapolis touring production playing through Sunday at Clowes Hall, the storyline seems pretty darned corny. And at a time of increasingly accessible images of the real world, a book musical that depicts the Riviera with painted backdrops might seem poor relations to a film.
That said, what "Scoundrels" does best boils down to the essence of musical theater: the score and lyrics, in this case by David Yazbek, who was nominated for Tony and Grammy awards for his work on "The Full Monty."
Are the tunes in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" as fun as "Got the Goods" or as poignant as "You Walk With Me" from "The Full Monty?"
Maybe not, but one of the rich female targets, Muriel Eubanks of Omaha, has a wonderfully brassy number, "What Was A Woman To Do?" Jameson's assistant, Andre, who is also a shady French police chief, performs a catty song suggesting that, no matter how you dress Benson, you still have a "Chimp in a Suit," and potential target Christine Colgate sings a cheerful tune called "Nothing Is Too Wonderful to Be True."
In terms of instrumentals, the overture contains a wonderfully mysterious theme, which is reprised at clandestine moments throughout the show.
Finally, this touring production is fortunate to have a quintet of bold, cocky players, most of whom are also decent singers. The combination of talent brings to life a bevy of crazy characters.
At Tuesday's opening show, Jamie Jackson's portrayal of Jameson seemed to be the strongest of the leads, evoking images of Patrick Stewart. As Benson, Doug Thompson did not muster the vocal power of some of his colleagues, yet excelled at physical humor.
Three female leads were all delightfully over the top: Suzanne Sole as a bold, persistent Muriel; Jen Jenkins as a Jolene Oakes reminiscent of a modern-day Dale Evans; and Jenny Gulley, who played Colgate with idealistic shades of a young Judy Garland.