Production overcomes 'Seven Brides' shortcomings
Sometimes a production has enough going for it that you forget the material's shortcomings.
This is one of those times, and Bill Jenkins' revival of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” for Drury Lane Oak Brook is one of those productions.
Much of the credit rests with Tammy Mader, whose wonderfully zealous choreography tips its hat to the legendary Michael Kidd, yet is wholly its own. Add the lovely singing of Abby Mueller, whose Milly is confident and authentic, Zach Zube's earnest Gideon and a spirited, high-stepping ensemble. Set it all against Kevin Depinet's lush snow-capped mountain and timberland backdrop and you don't mind the modest score, or the book that still feels tepid after several revisions, or the unexceptional ending saved by dance.
Dance is the key. It's what makes “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” worth seeing.
The show is based on the 1954 film (directed by Stanley Donen and choreographed by Kidd) about Oregon Territory rancher Adam Pontipee, who weds and woos in record time, unsuspecting townswoman Milly who finds her dreams of a quiet mountain home upended when she learns Adam's unruly, unkempt brothers are part of the bargain.
The 1982 Broadway adaptation by book writers Lawrence Kasha and David Landay; with music by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul and additional songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn was a failure, closing days after it opened.
Goodspeed Opera House earned acclaim for its 2005 revival featuring a retooled book. Drury Lane's production boasts yet another revision, which suggests where the show's problems lie.
That said, “Brides” has its moments. The lilting “Wonderful Day,” beautifully sung by Mueller, and the robust “Sobbin' Women,” are among the show's most memorable tunes. The sultry “We've Gotta Make it Through the Winter/Polecat” a sly, unsubtle ode to sexual frustration is a real gem.
Steve Blanchard plays Adam, the strong-willed, de facto patriarch who finds his equal in Mueller's Milly. That he doesn't immediately perceive it, is a standard musical convention. That the transformation feels forced suggests a writing problem.
Blanchard, whose best moments are the introspective ones, plays the character with a nice sense of detachment. He and Mueller have chemistry, which Jenkins exploits it by playing up the sexual attraction between them.
But at the end of the day, it's Mader's fabulous choreography that leaves the greatest impression. She sets the bar high with the famous first act dance sequence that begins with a reel and ends with a brawl. It's a seamless combination of square dancing, clogging with ballet irresistibly performed. Then she tops herself in the second act with the beguiling “Spring Dance” which unfolds as a series of pas de deux, that artfully demonstrate just how besotted these brothers are with their brides