Steadstyle Chicago
June 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
Pump Boys and Dinettes
"Pump Boys and Dinettes" is the kind of show that may leave you wanting more, if more of a good time is what you like. Drury Lane Oakbrook is taking a bit of a gamble with its current rockabilly rouser which may not appeal to all of its typically staid elderly clientele but should have plenty of appeal to a younger, hipper crowd. Those expecting a traditional "book musical" may want to wait for "Cabaret" or "Funny Girl". But if this 95 minute recipe of country, rock and roll, bluegrass and down home hospitality is light on plot, it's high on hand-clapping, toe-tapping entertainment.
Anyone who's ever lived in a small town will feel among friends with the four friendly gas jockeys and their tip-loving, neighborly dinettes. And those city slickers out there may just want to book a trip to a place where "work won't kill you but worry will". "Pump Boys and Dinettes" is Southern Fried comfort food for those in bad need of a vacation from reality and heavy handedness. On Highway 57 they celebrate the small things like good friends and good cooking that make life rich and rewarding. The songs penned by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann, who also comprised its original New York cast, evoke the pleasures of living by the roadside somewhere near Frog Level in South Carolina.
The joys of fishing, Fridays at the mall and that much needed vacation are joined by a couple of unexpectedly poignant ballads dealing with the death of a beloved family member and the plight of two women who grew up as close as sisters yet distant as strangers. I have seen dozens of "Pump Boys" and rarely felt the heartbreak of these numbers as powerfully as they are delivered by the relatively young and unknown Oakbrook cast. And they score with the showstoppers "Mona" and "Tips" just as easily.
"Pump Boys" has some unusual casting demands as all the performers must be not only good singers but proficient musicians as well. Director Shawn Stengel and Musical Director Malcolm Ruhl, both longtime veterans of the show, have ensured that all six singer/actor/musicians are not only clear as a bell melodically but terrific company to while away the time with. They are also distinct and individual personalities, from Shawn Whitley's strapping good ol' boy Jim to Alan Bukowiecki's hilarious nerdy L.M., Brian Burke's silent mystery man Eddie and Jesse Kazemek's boy next door charmer Jackson.
Tammy Mader and Lisa Jaine are as sassy and sexy a couple of "Double Cupp" dinettes as you could ever want, and be sure to dig deep into your pockets for their red-hot "Tips" number. The "Pump Boys and Dinettes" accompany themselves on everything from piano and guitar to upright bass, violin, harmonica and accordion as well as the most ingenious percussion you will ever witness. Scenic/Lighting/Projections designer Christopher Ash has marvelously extended the combined filling station and dinette into the Drury Lane auditorium, resulting in a pretty hilarious combination of crystal chandeliers and neon beer signs. The knickknacks and bric-a-brac combine to make a wonderfully cozy and lived-in respite that is at once cluttered and welcoming. Kick off your shoes and settle back for some mighty good musical times down on Highway 57.
"Pump Boys and Dinettes" plays through August 2, 2009 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The show runs 1 hour 45 minutes with intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m., Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Fridays at 8:30 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 6 p.m. Show prices range from $29 to $38, with Lunch or Dinner and Theatre packages available. Call (630) 530-0111 or visit www.ticketmaster.com or www.drurylaneoakbrook.com.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).
Second Thoughts by Alan Bresloff
Years ago, when the family went on a "road trip" it really was on a road, not a super highway or turnpike with fancy rest stops along the way. As we traveled the road we stopped at little gas stations (back in the days when they fixed cars as well as sold gas) and very near, if not owned by the same family, there was always a diner where one could partake of a meal that went with the scenery. "Pump Boys and Dinettes", a sort of Blue Grass/Country/Rock and Roll musical revue is one of those places and has survived the years very nicely.
The show is over 25 years ago and is certainly not an award winner, but it is an audience pleaser with its friendly, down home attitude and characters. The audience can forget all the problems they came to the theater with. They won't have any time to worry as they will be meeting these very real characters and tapping their feet, snapping their fingers and laughing as loud as can be for the duration of this fun-filled musical experience.
Directed by Shawn Stengel on a divine set by Christopher Ash, who also did the lighting and projection design, this is a stunning production and just another feather in the cap of Producers Kyle and Drew DeSantis at Drury Lane Oakbrook. I am not sure if the set was built for this production or picked up from a previous rendition, but it works very well and certainly gives us the feeling that the writers were anticipating. This theater keeps getting better and better and is probably the best theater value in the Chicago area, if not the Midwest.
The cast, many of whom are new to the stage but have a great musical talent and a natural ability to act, were probably babies when this show was first produced. Though many of the country roads are no longer about, the history and memories linger on. Director Stengel appeared in the Chicago production over 20 years ago and still feels the heart of what the writers wanted to convey to the audience. Just people and their stories, who they are, what they desire, what their dreams are. Just ordinary people with ordinary stories. But through the charm and the variety of music, we as an audience learn that between the tire changing, the pie baking,
The Pump Boys are L.M. (Alan Bukowiecki who is the perfect nerd and plays a mean piano and accordion), Eddie (Brian Burke who doesn't do much but plays the Bass like it was in his arms when he was born and helps the harmony when the ensemble sings as one), Jackson (Jesse Kazemek who has a great vocal range and is the man on lead guitar) and Jim (Shaun Whitley, who is the rhythm guitar man). These are The Pump Boys and a talented crew they are.
The Dinettes are a hoot. Rhetta Cupp is played with great energy by local favorite Tammy Mader, who also choreographed this production, and her sister Prudie is skillfully handled by Liza Jaine. These ladies also handle some great percussion, using items in the kitchen, the diner and anywhere else they happen to be. Their singing and dancing is top notch and their playing with the audience when they do "Tips" is a scream.
While the songs in this show are not memorable and would not stand the test of taking them out of the show and recording them, you cannot help but love the title song "Pump Boys and Dinettes", as well as "Closing Time", "Mamaw (well done by Whitley), "Farmer Tan", "Drinking Shoes", "Mona" (Kazemek goes all out on this one) and "T.N.D.P.W.A.M.," a funny heartwarming tribute to one of America's greatest Country singers--- need to see the show to find out.