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No, No, Nanette by Youth Summerstock Theatre  Bible sales were brisk during the Roaring Twenties, which divined good times for the Smith family. Three-quarters of a million dollars worth of good times! But Bible salesman extraordinaire Jimmy Smith (Austin Floyd) needs that money to support a little habit he has -- supporting beautiful young women who have "hard luck" stories and tend to live in areas that alliterate with their names (Betty from Boston, Flora from Frisco, and Winnie from Washington).
When it appears that Betty (Aimee Dotts), Flora (Barbara Keeler), and Winnie (Stephanee Asch) are about to crash his home, which would unintentionally reveal their suspicious relationship to Jimmy's wife Sue (Katrina Shingledecker), Jimmy tries to head them off at the pass. The "pass" being Atlantic City. After all, he wouldn't want his wife to get the wrong idea. Showering the three women with money is the extent of his relationship with them (truthfully). But he'll have to shower them with even more money to get rid of them. His attorney, Billy Early (Josh Laubacher), is supposed to pay them off. Billy's assistant, Tom Trainor (Travis Heath), is supposed to "assist" him. Unfortunately for them, their secret scheme is in jeopardy when everyone spontaneously decides to descend on the Smith's beach house in Atlantic City on the same day, including Mrs. Jimmy Smith, Mrs. Billy Early (Kaitlin Jaime), and the Smiths' adopted daughter, Nanette (Sarah Vincelett). This quaint, silly, but fun musical was the big hit of 1920s theatre. When it debuted in 1925, phrases in the script like "for crying out loud" and "the cat's pajamas" were just recently introduced to the American lexicon. As was the term "flapper," which is what Nanette aspires to become (or at least try out for awhile). The word "flapper" was derived from the British term to describe a duck that is still too young to fly -- aptly describing young Nanette who wants to spread her wings and see the world ...... before she plunges back to boring earth to marry her suitor, Tom Trainor. But her flapper aspirations are not met with enthusiastic responses from her suitor and everyone else around her, who reprimand her with the much dreaded "No, No, Nanette!" Sarah Vincelett and Travis Heath are the cute, young, innocent couple, Nanette and Tom. Sarah is pleasantly pouty while singing/complaining about her family's constant response of "No, No, Nanette" whenever she wants to do something fun. Travis is at his comic best when brown-nosing his boss or gawking at Jimmy Smith's three women admirers. Especially that outrageously well-endowed Flora from Frisco. Nanette and Tom's big duet is the most recognizable song of the show, Tea for Two. The not-quite-so-young, already-married couple is Billy (Josh Laubacher) and Lucille Early (Kaitlin Jaime). Billy gets a pretty handsome salary from boss Jimmy Smith. And good thing, too. For Lucille likes to spend it! Maybe that's why she's fairly tolerant when she thinks he's flirting with other girls, leading to their big duet, You Can Dance With Any Girl. But when she mistakenly thinks he may have taken that far too seriously, by cheating on her with Betty, Flora, and Winnie, she gets the Where Has My Hubby Gone Blues, which is the number where Kaitlin really shines and is definitely one of the highlights of the evening as she is comforted by three men decked out in a tux, a cowboy outfit, and in some sort of hilarious Aladdin-type get-up. Then there's that old married couple -- Jimmy (Austin Floyd) and Sue Smith (Katrina Shingledecker) -- who combine for the joyous I Want to be Happy song and dance. A song and dance that Austin will continue to recall anytime the occasion calls for it. Because, well, that's his main goal in life: to be happy and make other people happy, too. And if he happens to sell a few Bibles in the process, and create a few scandals by giving away his profits to make a few young, beautiful women happy, then all the better! But when it's all said and done and danced and sung, it turns out that the most amusing character is the single woman who doesn't sing at all. Pauline (Elizabeth Klueck) is the Smith's saucy maid who loves to smoke cigars, work as little as possible, and be as difficult as possible. She doesn't talk like she's happy working at the Smith home, but you can tell she enjoys watching this crazy household much more than she would ever admit. And you'll enjoy watching the show much more if you always try to keep one eye on Pauline, who is most often in the background. Something else in the background that was quite amusing was the phone call, with the off-stage ensemble creating the muffled replies on the other end of the line. Who thinks of these things?! :) Finally, there is some great dancing by the entire ensemble throughout, done to some original choreography by Joani Gerner. Especially impressive are the Too Many Rings Around Rosie, making great use of several humongous rings, and the enchanting Call of the Sea number, which even had Pauline swimming to the beat. The cast definitely rose to the choreographer's challenging routines, including the choreographer's own daughter, little Shauni Gerner, who has been taught well by her mother and was hamming it up all night to the delight of the audience. Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Nanette: Sarah Vincelett Michelle Routhieaux Tom Trainor: Travis Heath Josh Ammons Billy Early: Josh Laubacher Brandon Pohl Lucille Early: Kaitlin Jaime Rebecca Hall-Jimenez Jimmy Smith: Austin Floyd Jason Araujo Sue Smith: Katrina Shingledecker Elizabeth Klueck Pauline: Elizabeth Klueck Marla Worm Flora Latham: Barbara Keeler Gina Goodman Betty Brown: Aimee Dotts Laura Evans Winnie Winslow: Stephanee Asch Katelyn Bruggema ~ Tap Ensemble ~ Ann: Katrina Shingledecker Dorothy: Katelyn Bruggema Stephanee Asch Edie: Michelle Routhieaux Sarah Vincelett Lorraine: Shauni Gerner ~ Chorus ~ Abner: Derek Maples Carrie: Sierra Blair Alicia Biondo Darcy: Hillary Whitmore Maegan Recksiedler Diane: Amanda Maples Freddy: Lewis Ingham Jerry: Keith Biondo Jim: Adam Raskind Joe: Anthony Moreno Julie: Lisa Schnurr Chrissy Schnurr Nanci: Katy Oyarzun Sylvia Knorr Ruby: Riley Cameron Holly Adams Steve: Theo Adams Vance: Donny Bueno Director: Barry Bosworth Choreographer: Joani Gerner Musical Director: Damien Di Fede Costume Designer: Amy Skinner Assistant Director: Derek Maples |