THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508030060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
IMAGINATIVE AND clever staging is the high point of Founders Inn Dinner Theater's production of ``Big River,'' the musical based on Mark Twain's classic picturesque novel ``The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.''
The problems of staging this big, Tony-winning (1985) musical would seem to be insurmountable for a stage as small as that at the dinner theater. Even though this theater has successfully staged such musicals as ``1776'' and ``Shenandoah,'' there was every right to fear that any effort to mount ``Big River'' might come across as closer to ``Little Creek.''
Most memorable, in the original, is the scene in which Huck and Jim raft down the ol' Mississippi for the show's best number, ``Muddy Water.'' The Broadway staging actually suggested the exhilaration of the escape of outcast and slave. Could it work on a small stage?
When the scenic and lighting design reflect as much ingenuity as George Hillow shows in the current production, the answer is a resounding ``Yes!''
Hillow, in a production directed by Gary Spell, has used every inch of limited space to make the episodic nature of this trip flow naturally and smoothly down the river.
The all-important river-escape scene is captured with a stylized backdrop of river scenery. (The ``raft,'' which is a break-off from another section of scenery might seem a bit large for the river, but no matter). Even the difference between harsh daylight and the pastoral nature of moonlight is captured. (Even though the moon itself is a bit pathetic, it gives off effective light).
``Big River'' is an altogether pleasant (perhaps too pleasant) version of the Twain novel that evolves into a highly enjoyable evening of theater in this version. The score is by country music songsmith Roger Miller and includes serviceable, but not memorable, songs in the Southern and American West idiom. The performers are almost all on target with broad, folksy characterizations.
Brian Hampton is a sunny, bubbling and highly likable Huckleberry Finn, even though he is mature to be playing adolescent gawkiness. The ``Aw, Gosh'' nature of the role is inherrent in this script which, regrettably, avoids the darker sides of Mark Twain's novel.
If Huck looks a bit too well-scrubbed and proper to be a down-and-out outsider, it is not the actor's fault. This sunny stylization is the nature of the show itself which otherwise is faithful to the many anecdotes and subplots of the book.
That is the problem with this script, not with this production itself. The formulaic script attempts, in comic-book style, too many of the novel's anecdotes. The focus, and the show, are best in the Act I moments when Huck and Jim are at the center of things. Things wander toward the end of the first act when the vagrant conmen, known as the Duke and the King almost take over. Late Act II efforts to return things to the central focus of the two lead characters don't quite work.
With a powerful voice and a unassuming air, Michael LeMelle is fine as Jim, even if he seems a little young for the part. Many other actors use the role to boom obtrusively; LeMelle keeps it low-key and natural. To his credit, LeMelle has avoided the usual temptation to suggest that Jim was actually a 20th century civil rights activist.
Social injustice gets its due when Jim sings about how ``I wish I could spread my wings and fly'' and the two recognize that they are ``Worlds Apart.''
The roles of the Duke and the King are temptations for actors to chew the scenery. Happily, Bruce Hanson and David Frisinger avoid the ham and deliver entertaining, almost winning, pictures of these two scoundrels. David Springstead has a showy, if oversold, moment as Huck's no-account Pap, singing about the evils of big brother in a song called ``Guv'ment.''
There are many other serviceable cameos in a large and hard-working cast. There is a tendency, though, to oversell each and every song as if they were all highlights. There are too many ballads, especially an extraneous one about Huck's venture into puppy love. The best of the plaintive lot is an anthem called ``River in the Rain.''
As it is written, ``Big River'' is sunny and light with few suggestions that it was more than a boy's adventure tale. It is the clever use of stage space that distinguishes this particular production. ``Big River'' continues through Oct. 14. The Founders Inn dinner-and-theater package remains a good buy. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Michael LeMelle keeps his portrayal of Jim low-key and natural.
Graphic
THEATER REVIEW
What: ``Big River''
Who: Music and lyrics by Roger Miller, book by William Hauptman,
adapted from the novel by Mark Twain
Where: The Founders Inn Dinner Theater, 5641 Indian River Road,
Virginia Beach
When: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, dinner at 6:30
p.m., curtain at 8:15 p.m.; Sundays, dinner at 5:30 p.m., curtain at
7:30 p.m., through Oct. 14
How Much: $32 for dinner and theater; for theater only admission
is $22 for Friday and Saturday, $20 Tuesdays and Sundays
Call: 366-5749
by CNB