Photo courtesy Bombshell Theatre Co.
Bombshell Theatre's ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
Bombshell Theatre's ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
Bombshell Theatre Company welcomes 2024 with a pleasantly quirky,character-driven musical from the middle of the last century as it graces the Sunset Playhouse with Gentleman Prefer Blondes. The cozy studio theatre plays host to a musical trip to Paris as a couple of good friends deal with various challenges and emotional hurdles on their way to hopeful happiness. The weird mix of song, dance, comedy and drama feel strange and dreamlike in front of a projected backdrop the moves from an ocean cruise to various locations in Paris with an ever-present view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
A wildly campy dance through France on love and romance cleverly shoots across the stage in various directions thanks to a lightly energetic dynamic fostered by director Eric Welch. The various disparate elements of a musical that includes zippers, buttons and Calvin Coolidge might have seemed a bit bewildering without Welch’s touch.
Kendall Yorkey is strangely appealing as Lorelei Lee: a mid-century modern manic pixie dream girl who somewhat nervously looks to a somewhat murky future. Rae Pare has a deft and nuanced sense of humor that serves the role of Lorelei’s friend Dorothy quite well. Pare is as fun in any musical. She slides and glides along with the light mood and tone of the production, perfectly inhabiting the weirdly comfy reality of musical comedy. Celeste DuPuis makes a notable appearance as the all-dancing follies girl Gloria Stark, who finds her own way through Paris, eventually meeting conflict with the aspirations of Lorelei. DuPuis is a charming presence onstage with graceful movements which add to the overall warmth and beauty of a very, very appealing show.
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Bombshell Theatre Company’s production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes runs through Jan. 14 at Sunset Playhouse, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For ticket reservations and more visit bombshelltheatre.org.
Photo courtesy Bombshell Theatre Co.
Bombshell Theatre's ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
Bombshell Theatre's ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
