Products |
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
By
Published: Jan 01, 2005
Category:
Beyond Classification
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Butler loathes musicals. You’d think, as a kid, he was the one who knew all the songs and lived for the Drama Club production, but no — cornball lyrics and rousing dances made him gag from a tender age. In the past decade, Butler has been to just one musical of his choice (“Hairspray”), and that was because it starred Harvey Fierstein, who can do no wrong.
But a friend of Mrs. B came to town last week while Butler and the Mrs. skipped the country for a few days. This was the first time the Butlers had ever gone anywhere without The Kid, so this was a Big Deal. Naturally, when the nuclear family was reunited, it seemed right and proper to show some major gratitude to Mrs. B’s friend. How? In another life, both women were Show People. And so it seemed like the genteel thing to do was to buy Theater Tickets.
A safe offer, thought Butler — for what is playing on a Monday night?
Not much. Just the first preview of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” mildly based on the Michael Caine/Steve Martin movie, this time starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz. Tickets were available. [Groan.] In the 5th row, right on the aisle. [Howl of pain.] Clearly, this dog had fleas.
Butler brought along a notepad, the better to record any thoughts he might have about his own writing while the actors pranced foolishly onstage. Only — oops — they didn’t prance. The opening song was clever, the dancing sharp. The dialogue was snappy, the timing of the jokes just right. And then there were deliberately bad jokes, disgraceful puns, actors popping up in unlikely places around the theater — before Butler knew it, he was having so damn much fun he forgot his obligation to you and it was too late to start taking notes on the production.
The plot, such as it is, holds no surprises for those who have seen the movie. On the Riviera, a swindler named Freddy Benson (Butz) swindles women with nearly-transparent lies about his grandmother’s illness. Swindling at a much more exalted level is Lawrence Jameson (Lithgow). They meet and become partners, only to have a woman come between them. A $50,000 bet is made. And thus commences a competition with deeply farcial overtones.
Can Lithgow sing? Sort of. Doesn’t matter. He’s silky smooth in every gesture, and totally in love with the characters he invents to charm rich women — indeed, the only actor on Broadway who comes close to him in self-appreciation is Dame Edna. But it’s hard to keep your eyes on Lithgow when Norbert Leo Butz is onstage. Uncouth, out of control, a dynamo of need and greed, he’s Broadway’s very own Jack Black. And, like Black, he can really sing.
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” officially opens on March 3rd, and if Butler is any guide, the reviewers will say it is as good as “The Producers,” if not better, and then it will be so sold out you’ll never get to see it with the original cast. Don’t make that mistake. Go now. And then you can be the first on your block to know about the pleasure bomb set to explode on Broadway.
To buy tickets for “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” click here.
To buy the DVD of the Michael Caine/Steve Martin movie from Amazon.com, click here.
