 |
| Joel Grey, Susan Browning (seated) |
GOODTIME CHARLEY
[Musical/Biographical/France/Period/Politics] B:Sidney Michaels; M: Larry
Grossman; LY: Hal Hackady; D: Peter H. Hunt; CH: Onna White; S: Rouben
Ben-Arutunian; C: Willa Kim; L: Feder; P: Max Brown and Byron Goldman i/a/w
Robert Victor and Stone Widney; T: Palace Theatre; 3/3/75-5/31/75 (104)
 |
| Ann Reinking, left, Joel Brey, kneeling, Jay Garner. |
No one could accept the switch in importance from the
infinitely fascinating personage of the Maid of Orleans to the humdrum ditherings
of the prince, and Sidney Michaels’s book did little to make the change
worthwhile. The dynamics of the story kept pulling one’s attention to Joan, but
the book had clearly made the Dauphin the central figure, creating a “conflict
of narrative interest” that was never resolved, in Clive Barnes’s view.
Moreover, “The tone of the book is uncertain,” wrote Barnes.
“It tries to be both flippant and serious, but it really succeeds in being
neither.” Wit and passion, both present in Shaw, were missing in this “bloodless
musical,” and the whole, noted Douglas Watt, was shrouded by “a dreadful air of
solemnity and . . . lifelessness.”
The music and lyrics were generally dismissed as
unmemorable, though earnest. Together with the frequently trite dialogue,
shallow characters, and mostly unamusing comedy, Goodtime Charley offered little in the way of a good time.
Rouben Ben-Arutunian and Willa Kim, fortunately, provided
gorgeous sets and costumes, in the style of Maxfield Parrish paintings. Edwin
Wilson responded: “Visually it is one of the most elegant and elaborate shows
of the season.”
In the weak leading roles of Charley and Joan, Grey and
Reinking did their professional best, although the latter, a relative newcomer,
was given the stronger notices. Grey’s talents, said many, were wasted on a
poorly conceived character that offered him little to exploit, forcing him to
use his well-stuffed bag of slick show-biz tricks to hold interest. The
excitingly gifted and attractive Reinking had some fine singing and acting opportunities,
and carried her multi-faceted assignment off with grace and charm. Sadly,
despite her outstanding abilities as a dancer, the minimal choreography offered
her few chances to do what she did best.
Both Grey and Reinking nonetheless landed Tony nominations for
Best Actor and Actress, Musical. Also, Susan Browning, who played Agnes Sorel, and
Richard B. Shull, who played Minguet, were nominated as Best Supporting Actor
and Actress, Ter-Arutunian, Kim, and lighting designer Abe Feder were nominated
for their designs. No one, however, won anything. In the large company were
reliable names like Jay Garner, Louis Zorich, and an as-yet unknown chorus boy
named Pat[rick] Swayze as a servant.
