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In the case of Pete Bartel (Jim Howard) and Keely Stevens (Heather Alexander), NBC pulls them together for a reunion special sponsored by Swell Shampoo. Stuck in Bonanza’s time slot, it’s a stretch that these hoofers will succeed, but hope springs eternal in the hearts of TV producers. Plus, there’s a lurking recording contract that just might bring their careers back from the cut-out bins.
Talent lurks in their pre-Vietnam vocals and industrial-strength White Rain nails their thinning hair in place, but the ‘50s, Vegas-cool singing-style no longer meshes with hip, grooving 1968 America. As the audience reacts to the applause sign, both Pete and Keely react to one another, beginning the reluctant reunion with catty remarks about booze and philandering devolving into a name-calling fight.
Both Howard and Alexander are well cast, with great voices and comedic timing. The songs range from good-enough-to-listen-to-in-your-car (“Fever,” “Black Coffee”) to the sort of ‘60s TV mishmash that killed the television variety-show genre (“Cross Country Tour,” “Too Fat To Fit”). The show flies, sticking closely to the fiction of a television hour. I think everyone’s favorite was the lounge version of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a brilliant and campy parody of the abuse patriotic songs suffer at the hands of well-meaning but clueless pop stars at every Superbowl ever played.
Winter Park Playhouse begins its second season with a fun and zippy show, lead by the genial direction of Roy Alan. There were technical problems on opening night, with the vocals buried beneath the brassy three-piece band led by pianist Del DeCosta (Mollye Otis), but I suspect at some point they’ll get all the microphones lined up and balanced.
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