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| Diane J. Findlay, Casey Craig, Chip Zien, William Pierson. |
Smile, Smile, Smile, which Douglas Watt called an “extraordinarily
silly” musical, with a smidgen of a cue from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, sets its story on Paradise Island, ruled by the evil
Cockalorum (Rudy Tronto). He is aided and abetted by an island spirit named Arlie
(Bobby Lee), who also acts as narrator. Cockalorum has lured people of various
historical periods and locales to the island, setting them to slave labor
digging guano while he plies them with a will-destroying drink. A revolutionary
maiden named Franny (Diane J. Findlay) ferments a rebellion and overthrows the
dictator.
The production
suffered from an inorganic development of character and plot, shallow
characters, and borrowed ideas. Watt said it had “Insipid songs that are either
desperately energetic or cravenly melodic.” But there were some decent
performance, lively staging, and snappy designs, he concluded. Richard Watts
disagreed about the score, dubbing it “agreeable and tuneful,” and the overall
show reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan. Clive Barnes ended his 41-word review
by noting: “It was called Smile, Smile,
Smile. I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t.”
Song titles included "Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before?," "Paradise," "I'm the Cockalorum," "God Bless the Fig Tree," "Love Is a Fragile Thing," "Love Is a Pain," and so forth.
Cast members who would later make a name for themselves included Chip Zien and Gary Beach.
