Review of "Vanities" at The Pasadena Playhouse

Artistic Director Shelden Epps is begining to fall into a comfortable rut. His shows have a penchant for going to Broadway. Lucky fella.

"Vanities", the snappy and sparkling new musical at the Pasadena Playhouse, directed with bounce by Judith Ivey, is allegedly on its way to Broadway. At least, that was the buzz in the lobby during the previews. If what is onstage now is any yardstick for reserving seats on "the great white way", then this show is definitely headin' East.

Jack Heifner, the playwright of the original play "Vanities", a highly successful Off-Broadway show which ran for 1785 performances, has had to fend off producers and directors over the years who wanted to update and/or rework the piece into something Heifner said made no sense. Thank you, but no thank you.

Fast-forward to thirty-five years later. A mutual friend introduces young composer/lyricist David Kirshenbaum to Heifner. It's been said that when creative artists get together, "artistic chemical reactions" often take place. It's a little like seeds; when they're watered, they begin to germinate and things begin to sprout. In the case of Heifner and Kirshenbaum, both agreed that the "Vanities" ground was ripe for change and new growth. Voila!, a musical version was in the works.

It may not be quite the same as when the older Oscar Hammerstein II began his collaboration with the younger Richard Rodgers, but the analogy has a nice ring to it. Once they agreed to collaborate and actually write a musical version of Heifner's play it became a year and a half odyssey working with director Judith Ivey, whom they had earlier signed to direct the play, to finally get the book, lyrics, music, and cast to the version now on the stage at the Playhouse. The wait was more than well worth it!

Epps, in his program notes, talks about his season of plays at the Playhouse celebrating women and the roles they've played in theatre over the years. Well in this production the three actors, who age over three decades, validate the Artistic Director's prose and his prediction about this new musical production, "Vanities".

Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol star as the characters Mary(the Bohemian), JoAnne(the Traditionalist), and Kathy(the Organizer). It's the story of three close girlfriends whom we follow from their high school graduation into adulthood, and eventually into middle age - a period covering over three decades. Under the solid direction of Ivey, and the musical staging of Dan Knechtges, Kennedy, Stiles, and van der Pol invest great energy, verve, and flair into their performances. Right from the get-go, with their screams and squeals of teenage excitement, I wondered how they would handle the onstage maturing process required to follow them over the thirty years of the story.

The concern was soon put to rest and became a non-issue as the three actors revel in the challenge their characters find themselves in. Their problems and concerns become ours as well. Although male problems and situations are not quite the same with Mary, Joanne, and Kathy, there is enough relevancy to connect the musical's emotional dots.

The book by Heifner provides a solid foundation for Kirshenbaum to build his music and lyrics on. The changes in each character are strongly supported by Kirshenbaum's lyrics which contain both the excitement and the disappointment experienced by the three friends. And as in life, the people in the musical move in different directions and venture through varying stages and life passages; eventually coming full circle with themselves and each other. (I have a niece who sounds achingly like Stiles' Joanne. Talk about resonating, and on-the-nosey performances)

But hey, let's remember, this is a musical after all. It's upbeat. But it does have doses of sobering reality which I believe gives the production its power to entertain as well as the ability to touch the emotional core of the audience. Visually, it's a delight. It's bright, snappy, and played with such energy by Kennedy, Stiles, and van der Pol, I have no doubt these actors and characters will charm even those hardened cynics east of the Hudson River.

"Vanities" performs at the Playhouse until September 28th. Call the Box Office at 626-356-7529 for tickets and information.