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Muse Machine musical Rife with hijinks
DAYTON — The revival of a Muse Machine production that included several future Broadway performers 12 years ago marks the debut of another actor with notable potential.
Tyler Rife, still just a high school junior, put his distinctive stamp on the leading role of the musical “Me and My Girl” when it opened Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Victoria Theatre emblazoned with another asterisk. It’s the Muse Machine’s 25th winter production.
Rubber-limbed and seemingly wired for mischief, physical and musical comedy, Rife had the irrepressibility (more than the audacity) to do the role of Bill Snibson with memorable flair and confidence for an audience that included the last Muse student to play it.
That was Tyler Maynard, now a cast member of “The Little Mermaid” on Broadway. He gave the curtain speech with Tori Ross, another Broadway performer who had been featured in the Muse’s 1997 “Me and My Girl.”
The 2009 production about a Cockney scamp who finds out he’s an earl and isn’t sure he wants the trouble that comes with all the perks isn’t a one-man effort. Rife would probably have been just as at home on his own with a trunk of props in a show called “Me and My Shadow,” however.
Co-director Nat Horne and choreographers Lula Elzy and Lea Glass came up with several bits designed just for his talents. The Act 2 scene during which he explored many uses for a long, royal cape was the most obvious example.
In effective contrast, Abby Brown’s portrayal of Snibson’s true love, Sally Smith, unfolded and developed slowly and sweetly. Her deliveries of “Take It on the Chin” and “Once You Lose Your Heart” upheld sincerity and romance in a show filled with clever pranks and hijinks.
The student orchestra produced a pleasing vintage sound under the baton of David Dusing.
Tommy Skelton was a deserving crowd-pleaser in what could easily be just a one-dimensional role of the Hereford family solicitor Parchester. Kendall Young was the right mix of seductive and haughty as Lady Jacqueline Carstone.
Annabeth Kane was marvelous at delivering sharp lines and ignoring those from others as the almost indomitable Duchess Maria. Coleman Hemsath was Gerald Bolinbroke, who finally takes matters into his own hands with Lady Jacqui. Jordan Knecht was Sir John, whose patience with Lady Clara finally pays off.
Launched in the 1930s in England, the show by L. Arthur Rose, Douglas Furber and Noel Gay has some nice songs, but the main threads are comedy and a story with elements similar to those explored later in “My Fair Lady.”
The Muse Machine will present its consistently entertaining “Me and My Girl” again at 3 and 8 p.m. today, Jan. 10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets. Tickets are $15-$52 at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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