Who hasn’t sung “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Out-a My Hair” in the shower, or hummed “Some Enchanted Evening” while strolling the beach at sunset?
Director Sue Riney has come up with an off-season performance for Whidbey Playhouse performers that is sure to be a crowd pleaser, “A Grand Night for Singing,” a musical review featuring the memorable tunes of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
“The music is so beautiful,” Riney said. “We felt it would be a good draw.”
Performing are: Sue Riney, Dann Davies, Gaye Litka, John Juan and Susie Thompson.
Musicians accompanying them are: Sharon Burge, Vic Veltkamp, Dawn Shumante, Peggy Connell, Erik Christensen and Pat Felger.
The fancy footwork to accompany the toe-tapping tunes was choreographed by Celina Hatt.
The Tony-nominated production was conceived by Walter Bobbie and produced by the Roundabout Theater Company in 1993 on Broadway.
The 37 songs in the two-act musical review are plucked from the bounty of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, such as “The Sound of Music,” “South Pacific,” “State Fair” and “Flower Drum Song.”
The songs trace a path from love and romance, flirtation and courtship, to marriage, raising a family, growing old together and loss; timeless themes that are the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s many familiar musicals.
The five performers who sing and dance their way down memory lane have spent a year working on the songs, with the last two months spent “pedal to the metal,” Riney said.
Their hard work shows, with nary a misstep or missed note as they sing and dance their way through the challenging numbers. Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes are so familiar that they seem effortless, but it takes a lot of practice to pull that off.
Riney joked that the veteran Whidbey Playhouse performers have 89 years of experience among them.
“We’ve all been married to each other many times — on stage,” Litka said.
The songs are an emotional roller coaster, from the saucy “Surrey with the Fringe On Top” from Oklahoma!, to Juan’s poignant rendition of “We Kiss in a Shadow” from “The King and I.”
Just when things get comfortable, there are a few surprises along the way, such as Juan’s love interest in “Honey Bun” from “South Pacific.”
Between the familiar and the unexpected, it’s not only a “Grand Night for Singing,” it’s a grand night for singing along.
You can reach News-Times reporter Marcie Miller at mmiller
@whidbeynewstimes.com or
call 675-6611
