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MARK GARVIN
In "The World Goes 'Round" (from left) Ted Keegan, Rashidra Scott, Jaclyn Huberman and Jessica Wright perform the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb.
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Theater Review
Show doesn't measure up to the songs and singers
The World Goes 'Round is a revue of John Kander and Fred Ebb songs plucked from many of the famous shows they wrote together - Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman - as well as the not-so-famous shows they wrote together: 70, Girls, 70; The Rink; and The Happy Time. Daniel Kutner, who directed the Prince Music Theater production that opened Friday, manages to take this collection of sophisticated songs, filled with clever, ironical lyrics, and turn it into a suburban PTA talent show. And this despite some great voices among the cast of five.
The World Goes 'Round
Kutner accomplishes this in a variety of ways:
The singers' mikes are overamped, so the louder they sing, the worse it gets.
The dresses seem to be thrift-store specials (a shoulder corsage? long gloves? white pumps?) and the guys are dressed like accountants; whatever happened to style?
The staging is awkward: In an attempt to create cabaret-like intimacy, the singers often sit on the edge of the stage; sometimes they sit on the floor with their heads lowered while someone else is singing, pulling focus and making you wonder what they're doing there.
Through most of the 18-song first act everyone smiles all the time, ignoring the rueful, despairing or bitter lyrics they're singing through their shiny white teeth. This reaches outrageous cutesiness with "Mr. Cellophane," one of the most heart-wrenching songs ever written.
Two of the women seem to have done their own hair with the same hot rollers and had no time to comb out.
The two songs that really require belting, "Cabaret" and "All that Jazz," are sung by the one singer, Jessica Wright, who cannot belt.
The choreography relies exclusively on shoulder shakes, performed with the embarrassment of amateurs, and the silhouetted jazz hands are so faux Fosse Fosse Fosse.
The singers show off by playing musical instruments, shifting from PTA Talent Show to Talent Night on a cruise ship.
"Sara Lee" is a song about sex, not about cake. Somebody should tell them.
But an evening with such great songs has to provide some pleasure, and both Rashidra Scott and Ted Keegan have wonderful voices. Scott's "Maybe This Time" is gorgeous, as is Keegan's passionate "Kiss of the Spider Woman." The counterpoint duet of Keegan singing "I Don't Remember You" and Adam Armstrong singing "Sometimes a Day Goes By" is lovely and moving. "The Grass Is Always Greener" is irresistible, and Jaclyn Huberman and Scott have a good time with it; their rendition of "Class" is funny if unimaginative.
The onstage band is led by Collin Maier, who knocks himself out on the piano.
The World Goes 'Round
Through Oct. 12 at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St. Tickets $30-$40. Information: 215-569-9700 or www.princemusictheater.org.