Diablo Review: On the Town

Get ready for a night On The Town, courtesy of Diablo Theatre Company.

Three sailors arrive in New York City on 24-hour shore leave and wind up on a wild goose chase while looking for love.

Partnered with the talented Company C Contemporary Ballet of Walnut Creek and embellished with lavish sets by Robert Broadfoot, Diablo Theatre Company's production of On the Town at Walnut Creek's Lesher Center is a fun-filled and lighthearted work of art.

The members of Company C are an incredible addition to the show and provide the backbone to DTC's (formerly Diablo Light Opera Company) successful production. Director/choreographer Mindy Cooper seamlessly intertwines the company into the performance in a way that allows them to showcase their breadth of talents: particularly during New York, New York, Lonely Town, and Carried Away.

The cast is solid, with standout performances from Paul Plain (Judge Pitkin), Laurie Strawn (Madame Dilly), and Courtney Iventosch (Ivy Smith)—a triple threat of exquisite dancing, singing, and acting. There are plenty of gems to uncover in the ensemble as well, in particular Trevor Hoffmann who opens the show with his incredibly rich, deep voice.

Broadfoot, the set designer, has created an impressively intricate atmosphere. From the full skyline of glittering lights to the dingy urban box of an apartment—complete with hanging laundry—this is New York. A subway car moves across the stage—lights flashing in the tunnel behind it—and when the audience takes in three different nightclubs in the span of five minutes, the scene changes seem less like transitions and more like magic tricks.

In fact, the only part of the performance that suffers is the flimsy plot of the musical itself: Don't walk into this musical expecting West Side Story. On the Town is one of Leonard Bernstein's earliest works, and though funny and charming in places, it can feel more like a thinly veiled vehicle for the elaborate song and dance numbers (but hey, that's what we came to see, right?) It is a hard production to pull off, which makes DTC's feat even more impressive.

Simply put, this is a performance worth seeing. Full of vibrance and energy that even the 1949 Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra film adaptation could not fully capture. As artistic director Daren Carollo said on opening night, "This is our valentine to New York City."

Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes with intermission, September 11–27. For more information and tickets, call (925) 943-SHOW (7469) or go to dloc.org. Lesher Center For the Arts, 1601 Civic Center Drive, Walnut Creek.

Posted at 01:40 PM in Best Of Editor Picks | Permalink