Tintypes - Review
By golly, the good old days
are quite jolly in
'Tintypes'
Kyle Lawson
The Arizona Republic
Feb 19 2000
13:04:10
As musical revues go, Tintypes never goes very far.
The piece, conceived by Mary Kyte, Mel Marvin and
Gary Pearle, offers a nostalgic look at
turn-of-the-century America through the songs and
words of the era.
The tunes are pleasant but hardly memorable. The
speeches sound as if they've been lifted directly from
history books. There is a sophomoric attempt to tie it
all together through the experiences of an immigrant
as he reacts to his new world.
If that's all Phoenix Theatre's revival had going for it, it would be poor value.
Fortunately, it has director Michael Barnard.
He lavishes such a creative hand on the proceedings that it's possible to overlook
the paucity of the material. Whether the cast is re-creating an old vaudeville
routineor spoofing the glamorous leading ladies of the era, the audience is awash
in laughter.
There are lovely voices here, and they give a fine polish to such chestnuts as
Meet Me in St. Louis, I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen and You're a
Grand Old Flag.
Amy Jo Arrington, who's been away touring in The Phantom of the Opera,
makes a welcome return, particularly as Anna Held, the star of many of Florenz
Ziegfeld's extravaganzas. She exhibits a delightfully comic personality, combined
with a voice that pierces the rafters.
Michelle Gardner, the most underused of Valley talents, gets a chance to shine
with a series of impersonations, the best of them firebrand Emma Goldman.
Kathleen Todd's amazing voice does well by I Feel Like a Motherless Child and
Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home.
The men - Stephen Goodfriend and Bill Moore - make less of an impression, but
it's because the show offers them fewer opportunities. Moore, however, has nice
moments as Teddy Roosevelt.
If the director and
cast are Tintype's cake, then the sets by Jim Hunter, the lighting by Paul Black and the costumes by Gail Wolfenden-Steib are its icing.
They look good enough
to lick.