Double Trouble
A Musical Tour de Farce
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Bob Walton & Jim Walton
Direction & Choreography by Matthew Crowle
Music Direction by Linda Madonia
Produced by Porchlight Theatre
At Stage 773, Chicago
Part farce, part musical, and full-time fun equals Double Trouble
The creative folks at Porchlight Theatre found a brother team of talents to mount the musical farce penned and first performed by Bob & Jim Walton, Double Trouble. Adrian and Alexander Aguilar play Jimmy and Bobby. The Aguilar’s have the talent, the singing, the dancing, and the comedic ability to engage the audience as they play more than ten characters in an old-fashion musical farce.
It’s 1940s Hollywood and the two song-and-dance brothers are flown from New York in a career making opportunity to write a song for a major motion picture. But their challenge is in that they only have a few hours to create it. What makes this show sizzle is the triple-threat from the actual brothers Adrian and Alexander Aguilar. These guys charm us as they do their best Irma Vep meets the Sid Caesar imitation while quickly becoming each of the main characters that fuel Double Trouble. Director Matthew Crowle allows each brothers to shine with either upstaging the other.
This cute, funny wink-to-the audience farce reminds me of those old MGM musical films that Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O’Connor cranked out during the 30-40-50’s. The songs are cute and real Broadway; the tap dancing tuneful; and the sexy ballads a hoot! Adrian and Alexander Aguilar each are terrific here as each demonstrate their comic chops as well as their pure charm and theatrical stones. With the help of backstage dressers, these two deftly move from Jimmy or Bobby to Rebecca to a nerd intern or to a secretary to a mean impatient boss. They also play an older man who is a deaf sound engineer who suffers from narcolepsy as well as a ego-maniac agent.
This swift-paced 14 songs musical farce grabs us early and keeps us engaged as we laugh at the sheer stage craft and talent demonstrated in the tour de force performances by the brothers Aguilar. These guys are funny, smartly appropriate as they win us over instantly and impress us throughout.
Filled with a wacky plot with a few mild surprises, Double Trouble is 2 hours of fun. Among the fine productions values , are the black and white video design (by Chris Gekas) that sets up an old-time white tie and tales top hat with cane tap numbers reminiscent of a Fred Astaire routine. A fitting ending to a fine show. The brothers Aguilar could become co-winners of a Jeff Award for their fantastic performance. Double Trouble is truly a double your pleasure and double your fun night at the theatre. Kudos to Porchlight Theatre for selecting and casting this worthy show. It is pure fun!
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2013
For more info checkout the Double Trouble page at theatreinchicago.com
At Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL, call 773-777-9884, www.stage773.com, tickets $39, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 & 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm, special Thursday matinee at 1 pm on Oct 3, running time is 2 hours with intermission, through October 6, 2013