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Meet Me in St. Louis
Based on “The Kennsington Stories” by Sally Benson
and the MGM Musical “Meet Me in St. Louis”
Songs by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane,
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Produced by Drury Lane Theatre
At Drury Lane Water Tower Place
175 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL
Tickets: 312-642-2000 or www.drurylanewatertower.com, $50-$60
Wed-Thu at 7:30, Fri-Sat at 8:00, Sun at 6:00; Matinees Wed, Sat & Sun at 2:00, special matinee 11/28 at 2:00
Running time is 2 hours 5 minutes with one intermission
Through Dec. 21st
Meet Me in St. Louis Lights up Water Tower Place
Whether or not you remember the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland, if you are a fan of big song and dance shows, you will be enchanted by this stage version now playing at Drury Lane’s upscale digs in Water Tower Place. It’s all-American boy-meets-girl/girl-meets-boy happy-ending-and-all apple pie just in time for the holidays. There may not be any surprises here, but director Jim Corti’s staging of the show is smooth and lively and the cast is superb. On top of that there are more than a dozen great songs including some of the best known show tunes ever written.
Megan Long and Justin Berkobien are simply irresistible as young lovers Esther Smith and John Truitt. They embody the gift of song, dance and stunning good looks that defines Broadway stars and the chemistry between them makes even the most jaded in the audience sigh. Love buds in the Smith’s living room late one autumn evening as Berkobien croons “Over the Bannister” and comes to full blossom in the couple’s second act duet “You are for Loving.” Family and friends provide the backdrop for the courtship as they re-create St. Louis society in the ten months leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair and belt out a string of show stoppers that includes the theme song “Meet Me in St. Louis” and the always delightful “The Trolley Song.”
The love affair is put in jeopardy when Esther’s dad (Michael Gerhart) decides to move the family to New York just as St. Louis is to become the center of the universe. You already know how the thin-crust plot turns out, but who can care when papa’s Xmas Eve recant is brought about by Long’s beautiful “Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas.” It is sung to the cutest little-sister lap-full of seven-year-old you will see this holiday season (Emily Leahy) who also happens to be one fine little actress. It’s a good thing, too, because if this darling Tootie Smith couldn’t control her sparkle she would upstage the entire all-equity cast. Little sister Tootie is a devil and Leahy works the part. The kid can sing, too.
Meet Me in St. Louis is straightforward song-and-dance for the seasonal pleasure of the entire family. It has great music, smooth choreography (Tammy Mader), beautiful period costumes (Tatjana Radisic) and a uniformly wonderful cast. For holiday family fun on North Michigan Avenue, Meet Me in St. Louis is hard to beat.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Randy Hardwick
randyontheglobe@yahoo.com for commnts
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2008
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