TOM TITUS -- Theater Review

As a composer, Harold Arlen never really achieved the superstar status

of his colleagues George Gershwin, Irving Berlin or Cole Porter. Yet

consider this: If there hadn’t been a Harold Arlen, there wouldn’t have

been a Judy Garland -- or at least not the one we recall so fondly today.

Not only did Arlen write “Over the Rainbow,” Garland’s signature

number, he composed the entire score of “The Wizard of Oz” and a few

other ditties closely identified with Judy -- “Stormy Weather,” “The Man

That Got Away” and “Get Happy,” among others. Clearly, the guy was due

for a little tribute, even 15 years after his death.

The Newport Theatre Arts Center is paying that tribute with “Sweet and

Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen,” a musical revue composed entirely of

Arlen numbers. Some are obscure, some are classics, all will stir

nostalgia among the more seasoned members of the audience.

As staged by Terry Miller Schmidt with musical direction by pianist

Bill Wolf, “Sweet and Hot” is more the former than the latter. It’s a

soft, sentimental homage interrupted occasionally by a bouncy production

number and capped, of course, by “Over the Rainbow” as the grand finale.

The Newport production is set in three decades and locales -- the

1930s in a nightclub, the ‘40s at Coney Island and the ‘50s on an isle in

the Caribbean. Schmidt’s five-singer company shifts styles and moods

smoothly, blending the show’s overall softer tone with novelty numbers

such as “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.”

The singers -- Dennis Bryan, Joanne Lapointe, Nancy Nightingale,

Crystal Sutton and Lawrence Watts -- represent a broad generational gap,

but all know their way around an Arlen song. Choreographer Roberta Kay

keeps the quintet in tuneful motion.

Nightingale draws arguably the composer’s two best songs, “Stormy

Weather” and “The Man That Got Away,” for solo spots and headlines the

company’s act-one finale, “Get Happy.” All are nicely done, but no threat

to Garland’s memory.

Watts doubles as bartender and soloist in the first act, sharing “One

for My Baby” with Bryan and taking the spotlight on “What’s Become of

Me?” for a mood-deepening moment. While his vocal power may not approach

that of the others, he excels in the showmanship department.

Sutton struts her stuff in the fine “Fancy Free” number, as well as

illustrating the “Lydia” segment. She also warms the audience with “As

Long as I Live” in the 1930s portion of the show.

Lapointe’s best moments come in the “Down With Love” duet with Watts

and the “Sleepin’ Bee” solo as counterpoint to Bryan’s “I Never Seen

Snow.” Bryan hits his stride with the soulful “Any Place I Hang My Hat is

Home” and the peppy “Accentuate the Positive.”

Ensemble talent is exhibited with the title number, as well as a

haunting “Blues in the Night” and a peppy “I Love a Parade.” Several

recognizable numbers from “The Wizard of Oz” are combined into a bouncy

company medley.

Granted, younger audiences might wonder what all the fuss was about

regarding Harold Arlen, but those who remember the ‘30s and ‘40s will

find the evening a tuneful trip down memory lane.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.

FYI

WHAT: “Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen”

WHERE: Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Sundays until

July 1

COST: $15

TICKETS: (949) 631-0288