Gas up the Packard, Honey, We’re Driving to Chatham

The storyline isn’t revolutionary. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back, this time for good. 

When, however, you add four more girls getting boys, which doesn’t even count the pairings in the ensemble, and add in Prohibition, bootlegging, bloviating Senators, self-righteous temperance union leaders, an interpretive dancer and a few cops, it can get complicated … and simply wonderful.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It,” running through Sunday, June 19, at the Mac-Haydn Theatre on Route 203 in Chatham, NY, is summer stock theater at its best. Starting with the score George and Ira Gershwin with a book by Joe DiPietro, Maddy Apple’s crisp direction, choreography and insightful use of physical comedy becomes two-and-a-half hours of laughter and applause.

The principals, the supporting cast and the ensemble of singers and dancers carry the momentum forward with every set change, every song, every nuanced bit of repartee. Wayne Shuker as charming, clueless playboy Jimmy Winter is matched stride for stride, and note for note, by Beatrice Crosby as bootlegger Billy Bendix. Together, they are magical. 

Erin LeCroy is compelling as the oh, so spoiled daughter of Senator Evergreen, played with elegant pomposity by Don Dolan. His overbearing sister, Estonia Dulworth the Duchess of Woodford moves from prohibitionist shrew to outrageous trapeze artist without missing a beat. The visual comedy and dialog timing of both Andrew Jordan Dewitt and Connor Robert Fallon are remarkable, and completely charming.

The ensemble executed Apple’s richly nuanced choreography with ease — no small feat on a theater-in-the-round stage that puts dancers right at the edge, routine after routine.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is a summer treat. The Mac-Haydn Theatre presents a great range of musicals throughout the summer. For tickets and information, go to www.machaydntheatre.org, or call 518-392-9292.

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