Autumn is on its way, but Santa Maria Civic Theatre is presenting one more taste of good old-fashioned summertime musical comedy to kick off its 50th season: the world-premiere of Sugar! Oh, Sugar!
Sugar! is a melodrama that invites you to “boo” and “hiss” the villain, cheer the hero, and “awww” the heroine. Fans of Oceano’s Great American Melodrama will also enjoy this production.
It took a national effort to bring this play to a Santa Maria stage: The show was written and directed by Wil Welsh of Hawaii, with original music and lyrics by Ed Dato of Texas and Jerome Gilmer of Colorado.
The setting is 1900s Hawaii, and the score features an upbeat ragtime-style sound, with a few other period musical styles mixed in.
Sugar follows the familiar melodrama plotline of the scheming villain who threatens to evict the innocent heroine unless she agrees to marry him. The action takes place in a house on an old sugar plantation, where said heroine, Miss Lilly White-Hart (Aubrey Hutt) lives with her dear old Granny (Loretta “Toni” Paoli).
Hutt lives up to her character’s name in the innocence department, but also gives the heroine an endearing goofiness that makes her more sympathetic. Lilly decides to seek gainful employment in order to save the house, but she’s taken by surprise when Rosey Lipps (Roxanne Ventriglia), a lady of the night with a heart of gold, drops by to show her the tricks of her trade. Ventriglia has a lot of fun with the role, especially her musical “lesson” on sexy walks and glances.
Meanwhile, Granny has her own way of dealing with troubles—she turns to booze. It’s a kick to see sweet-looking Paoli taking frequent swigs from a flask and brandishing a trusty broom that she uses to “sweep” (smack) bad guys away.
When insurance man Doug Deeper (our hero) arrives to rent a room in Lilly’s house, she mistakes him for her first client, and the innuendo flies. Fitzgerald captures the “golly-gee-whiz” quality of the melodrama hero.
The show’s general level of silliness is summed up by the villain’s name: Dudley Fartsworth. Thank goodness, the name is as far as the “fart” joke goes—he doesn’t break wind once over the course of the evening. What he does is swoosh his cape and bug out his eyes menacingly, as any good melodrama villain should. Scott is at his sinister best when singing his anthem to “evil and sin.”
The character of Pastor Snorwell (Rob Marland) adds an interesting twist. This secondary villain pretends to help Lilly, but really just wants the house for a new church parsonage (where he would live himself). His gospel-style number, “Don’t Worry Your Pretty Little Head,” is a hoot.
Though the focus is on zany comedy and fun musical numbers, some room is also made for sincerity. Doug sings a gentle ballad about the wholesome kind of girl he wants to settle down with. Even though the whole ballad is pretty much a set up for a joke, it does bring across a real sense of longing.
John Nagy, as longtime sugar mill worker Smokey, delivers a touching performance of a song called “You Were My Friend” to his late co-worker’s urn.
Even Rosey gets to show her more tender side with a number about the man who got away.
Act One breezes by, but Act Two drags a little. This is not so much because of the material itself, as that the piece may just be slightly too lengthy for the genre. Act Two does contain one of the funniest moments in the show: While the heroine and Granny despair in the foreground, the villains perform an elated Vaudevillian song-and-dance number in the background.
The Hawaiian setting seems fairly arbitrary to the story itself—the melodramatic plot could have taken place almost anywhere—but it does inform certain aspects of the production. The villain’s cape is the traditional black on the outside, but the inner lining features a Hawaiian floral pattern. Then there’s the peppy and irresistibly catchy work song “Sugar Days,” which catches some of the atmosphere of the plantation location.
Most local musical productions use pre-recorded music, and it’s refreshing to see live accompaniment at this show. The musicians—Morgan Nelson on piano, John Forsman on bass, and musical director Joelyn Lutz on guitar—were all wonderful.
There are a few possible minor continuity errors, such as Lilly referring to her late father as her “Granny’s nephew” (which would make Granny her great aunt, not her grandmother) and Dudley’s profession changing from banker in Act One to lawyer in Act Two. (Might he be both a banker and a lawyer? Dudley is a busy bad boy.)
In short, if you like wacky melodrama and light musical comedy, you’ll enjoy Sugar! Oh, Sugar! And remember, you can always say you saw it here first, in Santa Maria.
Freelancer Brent Parker is sweet on theater. Contact him through the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
Â
This article appears in Sep 18-25, 2008.
