The Acting
From this, let me comment on
the acting. Since there is more
substance to Rosalie and Marco's
story, they do stand out. This is
also due to the excellent talents of
Ann Ault and David Harper. Lili
and Paul seem to be on stage for a
shorter period and, since they are
outcasts in the carnival, do not have
the rousing production songs given
to the minor characters. Instead,
they have either touch songs, or
little ditties that re a bit too sweet.
Joyce Stoner is quite lovely as the
orphan who joins the carnival and
Pat Stoner gives an excellent
performance as the bitter Paul.
They are both excellent singers
with good delivery. The script does
not grant them enough material to
really work with however.
I would have preferred author
Michael Stewart and
composer-lyricist Bob Merrill to
have elaborated on Lili's character.
Unfortunately when adapting the
musical from the 1953 film "Lili,"
the authors seem to have forgotten
one key scene in the film which
would help the show a great deal. I
am referring to the dream sequence
where Lili dances with the puppets
who have now become life-size and
replace humans. This would have
helped the audience to realize that
Lili is a complex character, and it
would have eased us to accept her
change in character by the play's
conclusion. If nothing else, it would
have been a nice production
number, and another opportunity
to use some Magic.
