T H E AT E R
EMILIA RORDEN, ELLA GREENE AND SIV SERENE BARNUM IN LEADER OF THE PACK
Th ursday, August 7 • 8-11
Butterchuck
21 AND OVER, FREE SHOW
Friday, August 8 • 8-11
Madrona
21 AND OVER, FREE SHOW
28 Beer Taps & 8 NW Wine Taps
Join us for lunch, dinner & late night.
First National Taphouse
51 W. Broadway | 541-393-6517
DO WAH DIDDY
ILLUMINATED
Very Little Theatre ends its 85th season
paying tribute to pop legend Ellie Greenwich
E
llie Greenwich is the boss. A master songwriter, Greenwich
had a hand in composing buckets of Top 40 hits, such as
“Chapel of Love,” “Hanky Panky,” “Da Doo Ron Ron”
and other baby-boomer jams.
Leader of the Pack is a musical review with enough
dialogue slipped in to provide an endearing sketch of Greenwich’s
life. The play blurs the line between song and story, attempting to
tell the tale using the composer’s own music. Greenwich’s light
pop music is echoed by a play that never drives too deep yet
manages to illuminate her greatest hopes, both dashed and
fulfilled.
Director Peg Major is no stranger to the crowd-pleasing
musical extravaganza. Her decades on the Eugene theater scene
have left her with a sense of what will entertain audiences. For
Leader of the Pack, Major casts singers, gives them highly
achievable dance numbers and unleashes their inner ham.
With breakneck pacing and a patina of bright smiles, this
production goes down like an ice cream soda. While parts of the
play were a little too squeaky-happy 1960s for some, the cheerful
fun resonated with most.
This production is powered by the extraordinary performance
of Beth Milton as Darlene Love. Her mind-blowing vocals and
confidence elevate even the simplest of lyrics.
Haley Henderson is sweet as young Ellie, and grows stronger
as she transitions from a star-struck girl to a successful, driven
woman. While the script’s quick switch of actresses to facilitate
the aging of Ellie feels awkward, Kim Fairbairn finished the play
nicely as an older, wiser Greenwich.
Seeing as the play spans five decades, has 17 cast members and
I don’t know how many scenes, the costumes were a monumental
undertaking. There are places where costumer Paula Tendick steals
the show, as with “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and
others where you wish there had been time for just one more fitting
or a little more moustache glue.
Any woman who managed a killer career throughout the ’60s
and ’70s is deserving of her own musical, but in this case it is
particularly apropos. Leader of the Pack’s energy and charm are a
fitting tribute to Ellie Greenwich. — Anna Grace
Leader of the Pack runs through Aug. 16 at the Very Little Theatre; $15-$20.
85th SEASON!
The Very Little Theatre
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LEADER OF
THE PACK
1960s Jukebox Musical by
Anne Beatts, Ellie Greenwich,
Jack Heifner, & Melanie Mintz
Directed by Peg Major
August 1-3*, 7-10*
14-16 * Sunday Matinees
Tix: $20 ($15 for Thursdays)
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7L[RQOLQHDWwww.TheVLT.com
541-344-7751
BLONDE AMBITION
The Shedd puts on a frothy, sparkling
production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for
OFAM
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The Shedd’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes runs through Sunday Aug. 10 at the Hult’s
Silva Concert Hall; $11-$46.
Asian Food
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WILLAMETTE STREET
ntellectual though he was, writer H.L. Mencken positively
came undone, his friend Anita Loos observed, under the
beguiling spell of some … blonde.
Loos was inspired to document Mencken’s lovestruck
unraveling, first as a fictional serial in Harper’s Bazaar, and
later in her bestselling 1925 novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,
which was read by simply everyone, dahling. Jazz-Age stalwarts,
from Edith Wharton to William Faulkner and James Joyce, praised
Loos’ daffy depiction of life in the Roaring Twenties, chronicling,
according to Loos herself, the era’s “idiots and fools.”
Written as the diary of a dizzy young flapper from Little Rock,
Arkansas, named Lorelei, with misspellings, malapropisms and
all, Loos’ novel, the subsequent 1949 Broadway musical (with
adaptation by Loos and starring Carol Channing) and a 1953 film
(with screenplay by Loos and starring Marilyn Monroe) cemented
Lorelei in American iconography and defined Anita Loos as one of
the most pioneering and successful creative women of the last
century.
Flash-forward to The Shedd’s Oregon Festival of American
Music 2014, and Lorelei lives again, in this frothily engaging
production directed by Ron Daum, with musical direction by
Robert Ashens.
“The good thing about diamonds is they always look new,”
espouses Lorelei, played with gusto by Shannon Coltrane. Angie
Fisher’s Dorothy provides comic sass to Lorelei’s lilt. And
together, these two gal pals are a force. If it’s romantic novelty
they seek, they needn’t look far on this cruise ship bound for Paris,
replete with multiple swains, including the entire U.S. Men’s
Olympic team.
Potential suitors abound, and Trevor Eichorn shines as a spot-
on Henry Spofford III, an upright “college man” who gets weak-
kneed around Dorothy. Eichorn’s approachable physicality and
magnetic facial expressions fill the Hult Center’s cavernous Silva
Hall. Likewise, Matt Musgrove is refreshingly broad as zipper
salesman and health nut Josephus Gage.
Choreographer Laura Hiszczynskyj takes full advantage of the
sizeable cast, creating sporting numbers that have a consistently
cheeky and athletic ring.
Playful sets by Mark Huisenga transport us from New York to
Paris. And like dollops of rainbow sherbet, Jamie Parker’s
costumes poke fun at the excess and eccentricities of the age.
— Rachael Carnes
Sunrise
www.sunriseasianfood.com
M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm
70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • A UGUST 7, 2014
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