'Honeymoon in Vegas' makes Marriott Theatre debut with Broadway creators
Marriott Theatre officials took a gamble when they asked director Gary Griffin to stage the regional premiere of “Honeymoon in Vegas” at the Lincolnshire theater.
Griffin had helmed the critically acclaimed musical adaptation of the 1992 film comedy twice before, first the 2013 world premiere in New Jersey and then the 2015 Broadway transfer. Many directors would have declined Marriott's offer.
Instead, the theater got a three-for-one Broadway payout. Not only is Griffin directing Marriott's “Honeymoon in Vegas,” he also brought aboard choreographer Denis Jones and costume designer Brian Hemesath from the original creative team.
“I loved working on it in the two-and-a-half years we developed the show,” Griffin said.
Griffin said staging the regional premiere was attractive after the hoped-for national tour didn't pan out. And taking the job gave the eight-time Jeff Award winner the chance to return to Chicago, where he directed shows for more than two decades.
“This production gave me another chance to build upon what I learned from Broadway — nuances and ways to make things clearer and sharper and smarter,” Griffin said. “Also doing it in the round means you can't do what you did before — you have a new set of rules.”
Jones, who is making his Marriott debut with “Honeymoon in Vegas,” saw Marriott's in-the-round stage as a plus.
“Gary and I have been talking about it a lot and how we feel that the space is very much our friend for this musical,” he said. “It's very exciting to be looking at it from so many vantage points — literally and figuratively.”
Jones loves the Latin rhythms and 1960s Las Vegas glamour of the jazzy score by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown (“Parade,” “The Bridges of Madison County”). Andrew Bergman wrote the script, an adaptation of his own film screenplay.
The story revolves around commitment-phobic Jack (Michael Mahler), who gambles away a weekend with his fiancee, Betsy (Samantha Pauly), to amorous gangster Tommy (Sean Allan Krill). The path to the altar gets rather complicated — including a Hawaiian detour and sky-diving Elvis Presley impersonators.
“It's fun to watch this cast, who for the most part hadn't seen the show and didn't know it well, fall in love with it and get excited about performing it,” Griffin said. “You can tell a lot about that in rehearsal — given how the artists respond to it.”
To star as Jack, Griffin sought out Jeff Award-winner Michael Mahler, a multitalented actor/composer/lyricist/music director whose previous Marriott credits include composing the scores to the world-premiere musicals “Hero” and “October Sky.” Griffin and Mahler recently collaborated on Brown's 1998 musical “Parade” for Writers Theatre in Glencoe, though in that instance Mahler was the show's music director.
“I feel lucky that I get to bring my skill sets from both sides of the table to bear when I'm an actor,” Mahler said. “So I can think about the show as a music director and composer and wonder why it was written this way and that then gives me tools as a performer.”
Mahler is grateful to have Griffin and Jones aboard for Marriott's “Honeymoon in Vegas.” Through them, the cast can learn how the show was formed and how it changed along the way.
“Getting to hear about the evolution of a piece, I find that fascinating,” Mahler said. “And I try not to feel too nervous about the fact that this will be the regional premiere, but I just feel really lucky that it's a piece that is so funny and strong and deserves to be known by more people.”
“Honeymoon in Vegas”
<b>Location: </b>Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0200 or <a href="http://marriotttheatre.com">marriotttheatre.com</a>
<b>Showtimes:</b> 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday; now through Oct. 15
<b>Tickets:</b> $50-$60; dinner-and-show packages available