In 1960, when Eisenhower was still president and what we think of as "the '60s"... counter culture... protests... civil unrest... had yet to really begin, Billy Wilder and his screenwriting partner I.A.L. Diamond created The Apartment, a film starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray. Widely considered one of the greatest movies ever to come out of Hollywood, The Apartment in some ways sets the stage for the decade to come—not the '60s of the Hippies, or the Civil Rights and anti-war movements—but the Mad Men era of slim neckties and broadening sexual politics.
The film's premise was as simple as it was cynical: the fastest way to the top of the corporate ladder was to provide a convenient location for the sexual shenanigans of company executives—hence, "the Apartment." Eight years after the movie premiered, the film was turned into an improbable Broadway musical: Promises, Promises. With music and lyrics by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and book by Neil Simon, Promises, Promises couldn't have had a more stellar '60s pedigree and it received its share of accolades: three Tony Awards (for Bacharach's music and performances by Jerry Orbach and Marion Mercer) and a three-year run on Broadway that provided two hit songs for Dionne Warwick (the title and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again") and launched the careers of choreographer Michael Bennett and dancers Baayork Lee and Donna McKechnie.
Appropriately enough, the Blank Theatre company has revived the show for the holiday season (the show is set at Christmastime), and I am pleased to report that the production, under the direction of Danny Kapinos, is an absolute gem. Brimming with Bachrach's catchy score, the show's infectious tunes and witty story dazzle, thanks to the super-talented cast that knows how to land a laugh, touch your heart, belt a song and fill the tiny stage with dance.
I have to make special mention of the show's two leads: Northwestern alum Rory Schrobilgen as Chuck Baxter—the junior executive with the spare apartment key, and Brandy Miller as Fran Kubelik, an unlucky-in-love waitress in the executive dining room. Schrobilgen, who, with rare exceptions, occupies the stage for almost the entire show, possesses unique charisma—at once eager and vulnerable, he is an immensely likable performer who has the audience rooting for him from his very first line. A talented singer and comic actor, he also carries the show's more serious moments. Miller's Kubelik is equally winsome, with a crystal clear singing voice that effortlessly reveals her character's hopes, disappointments and, ultimately, a healing broken heart.
They are ably supported by a strong ensemble, in particular two gifted comedic performers: Allison Rose Macknick as Marge MacDougal, an uproarious good-time-gal who so thoroughly steals her scene at the top of Act 2 she could be arrested, and Kingsley Day as Dr. Dreyfuss, Baxter's next-door-neighbor, who, along with his MD, possesses impeccable comic timing.
Then there are Flower Wang, Dayle Theisen and Isabela Barry, a trio of singers/dancers who almost stop the show with their brilliant interpretation of the show's first act closer, "Turkey Lurkey Time." While they don't follow Bennett's original choreography, they manage to capture the late-'60s abandon of the production number with a head-wagging, hip-swaying, arms-akimbo joy that left the audience grinning ear-to-ear.
The production runs through December 30. Go and see it—it just may be the best present you receive this holiday season.
Blank Theatre Company's revival of Promises, Promises, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, is 2.5 hours long, with a 15 minute intermission. Tickets are available for $37 ($22 for students) at www.blanktheatrecompany.org.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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