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A CurtainUp DC Review
Dirty Blonde
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I made myself platinum, but I was born a dirty blonde. . .— Mae West.
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Emily Skinner as Mae West
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Emily Skinner is a marvel as the phenomenon Mae West. She ages from teenage to dotage with conviction and ease while delivering West's one-liners with a certainty and timing that is perfection. She is equally adept at personifying the disdain for convention that elevated Mae West from vaudeville to Hollywood. Skinner also plays Jo, the contemporary Catholic school-bred Brooklynite whose experience with men is very limited, the antithesis of Mae, with endearing skill. She gains identity and strength from a celebrity. This actress has tremendous range.
Supporting Emily Skinner are two of Washington's best-loved comic actors, Hugh Nees and J. Fred Shiffman. Nees plays Charlie, Jo's friend—, a film archivist fixated on Mae West — plus cameos of W. C. Fields and the trial judge who tries to convict Mae West of indecency. Shiffman shows his enormous versatility by playing the husband Mae West abandons, the director who tells her to "be yourself" and several other characters. His soft shoe is worth the price of admission.
Dan Conway's set fills the smaller of Signature Theatre's spaces by placing a proscenium arch within a proscenium arch. The iconic image of the head and naked shoulders of a very young Mae West is projected onto the rear brick wall. A piano (which Shiffman plays most ably) is downstage left. Costume designer Helen Huang has costumed extravagant sequined gowns, flowing feather boas, and hats that rise to the occasion.
Signature Theatre, located in a Northern Virginia 'burb just ten miles south of Washington, D.C., is still on a high having received this year's Regional Theatre Tony Award. Dirty Blonde opens its 20th season and it is a winner.
Editor's Note: To read our reviews of this show during its earlier days in New York go here.
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Dirty Blonde A play with music by Claudia Shear Conceived by Claudia Shear and James Lapine Director: Jeremy Skidmore Musical Director: Gabriel Mangiante Cast: Emily Skinner, Hugh Nees, J. Fred Shiffman Running time: one hour and forty-two minutes Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Va. 22206; administration: 571-527-1860; tickets ($47 to $71): 703-573-SEAT. http://www.signature-theatre.org From August 11 to October 4, 2009. Review by Susan Davidson based on matinee performance August 29, 2009. |
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