Newsday

Steve Parks

 

Ira Gershwin never intended this exquisite irony when he wrote the lyrics to brother George's bouncy tune "Nice Work If You Can Get It." But "nice work" -- born rich and never having to toil a day in your life -- permeates the 2012 musical making its Long Island premiere at The Gateway.

Joey Sorge plays the philandering heir so amiably that he has us rooting for 1-percenters born sucking on silver spoons. When we meet Jimmy, he's plastered in a speakeasy. (It's the 1920s, and Prohibition reigns.) The occasion is a bachelor party for a three-time matrimonial loser. He's about to wed an artiste -- the pretentious dancer-daughter (Breighanna Minnema) of a hypocritical politician (Steve Brady). Jimmy's only doing it so his mother (Leslie Alexander) won't disinherit him. Just before a police raid, he runs into a girl bootlegger whom he kisses before passing out. When he arrives at his Long Island manse with his bride-to-be, Jimmy forgets that he told the tomboy-cute bootlegger about his beach house. She and her partners in crime are stashing 400 crates of booze in the cellar as the nuptial couple arrives.

Sorge and Amanda Lea LaVergne as Billie the bootlegger sing and dance mating rituals to their unlikely pairing on such Gershwin masterpieces as the title tune, plus " 'S Wonderful" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" -- introduced by Billie as she aims her rifle. Their chemistry percolates in a way you can't direct, though Larry Raben should take credit for all other attributes -- high (bipartisan zingers) and low (sexist leering) -- of this irresistible musical throwback, accompanied by Charlie Reuter's jazzy orchestra. James Beaman as Cookie, the bootlegging butler, initiates much of "Nice Work's" dopey-smart fun. From bah-dah-bum one-liners to pratfall antics, he plays farcical second fiddle only to Sally Struthers as Duchess Dulworth, a temperance zealot. Dead-drunk jokes usually leave me cold, but with Struthers literally swinging from a chandelier, only Carrie Nation would tsk-tsk.

Supporting players and especially the ensemble choreographed by Peggy Hickey ("A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder") keep "Nice Work" fizzing like Champagne. While you may find bigger dance numbers on Broadway, you'd be hard-pressed to find better. Accessorized by the late Martin Pakledinaz's Roaring '20s costumes and framed by Shoko Kambara's Gatsby-rich sets, it's nice work that you can get for a song. Fans of Gershwin and guilty pleasures should not miss it.

 

Broadway World

Melissa Giordano

 

It is truly a pleasure seeing Nice Work If You Can Get It at Bellport's Gateway Theatre. It has a zany and charming story, a beautiful Gershwin score, and the theatre is absolutely stunning. Most importantly, however, the cast is super-beyond talented. After all, many of them come from Broadway.

Running through June 27th at the Long Island venue, the tale, by Joe Dipietro, centers on Jimmy Winter (Joey Sorge) and Billie Bendix (Amanda Lea LaVergne) who are from very different worlds. Jimmy, Matthew Broderick's role from the 2012 Broadway production, is a millionaire playboy while Billie, Kelli O'Hara's role from the Broadway production, is a bootlegger. In an effort to hide her stash, she uses Jimmy's basement to store the stolen goods. As predicted, they fall for each other, but not without some crazy twists and screwy characters along the way.

Ms. LaVergne (Broadway: Annie, Grease) and Mr. Sorge (Broadway: Nice Work If You Can Get It, How To Succeed..., et. al.) were both top notch in their respective roles. Great chemistry makes them a believable couple... always bickering, yet caring toward one another.

Also part of the stellar cast is the hilarious Sally Struthers who is portraying fervent prohibitionist Duchess Estonia Dulworth. Ms. Struthers is absolutely thrilling in the role particularly in the hilarious luncheon scene of act two. The Duchess, unbeknownst to her, is given alcohol and let's just say makes a very funny drunk. This culminates with an extended applause from the enthusiastic audience.

Everyone in the cast is truly remarkable. They sing the Gershwin score with vivacity that includes classics like "'S Wonderful" and "Let's Call The Whole This Off". Additionally, Peggy Hickey's chorography is fun and energetic and Martin Pakledinaz's costumes seem fitting for the late 1920's time period. And, of course, it is always delightful to see a terrific live band lead by Musical Director Charlie Reuter.

And so, Nice Work If You Can Get It is indeed another hit for the fabulous Gateway Theatre. It's fun, zany, full of laughs; everything a show should have. This is certainly a production not to be missed.

Nice Work If You Can Get It is presented by the Gateway Theatre of Bellport, Long Island, through June 27th. Music & Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, Book by Joe Dipietro, Inspired by material from Guy Bolton & P.G. Wodehouse, Directed by Larry Raben, Choreography by Peggy Hickey, Production Management by Brian Loesch, Casting by Michael Baker, Scenic Design by Shoko Kambara, Company Management by Bethany Sortman, Lighting Design by Marcia Madeira, Preduction Stage Management by John Pollard, Costume Design by Martin Pakledinaz, Musical Direction by Charlie Reuter, Associate Choreographer is Matthew Vargo.

 

The Long Island Advance

Linda Leuzzi

 

‘Nice work’ with snappy songs, dancing and comedic perfection.

The probability of feisty woman bootlegger Billie Bendix (Amanda Lea LaVergne), a romantic skeptic, and likeable, wealthy socialite Jimmy Winter (Joey Sorge) converging isn’t your norm, but that’s what witty, fun musicals are for. They meet in 1927 outside a Manhattan speakeasy, when Jimmy staggers out after a pre-wedding celebration (his fourth). He tells Billie he has a Long Island beach house, expresses his affection and passes out. She filches his wallet and, needing a place to hide her gin after the club is raided, heads for Jimmy’s mansion and their fates take off.

You can’t lose with music by George and Ira Gershwin, and songs like “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” are a joy to hear. Gorgeous costumes, sets that shine, dancing that gets your blood pumping, but frankly, there are so many diamond moments in this production, it’s hard to pick one. So we’ll sift through the treasures.

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sally Struthers, as Duchess Estonia Dulworth, that pillar against drink and sister of Jimmy’s future father-in-law, can only be defined as gloriously uproarious. She muscles her role with perfectly timed inflections, over-the-top imperiousness and a voice that grabs you. The scene where she unknowingly tipples alcohol in her lemonade provided by Cookie McGee (James Beaman), the butler who wants to get her soused so she’ll stop ordering him around, is priceless. She drags herself on the rehearsal luncheon table, hooks onto Cookie’s leg, grabs the chandelier and swings. As for Cookie, everyone should have a butler like this one, irreverent, streetwise and Billy’s partner in the ruse, hoarding the gin in the basement. His scenes with Struthers, wise-guy lower Manhattan versus insufferable Park Avenue, are fabulous comedic collaborations.

Breighanna Minnema, who plays Eileen Evergreen, Jimmy’s joyfully narcissistic fiancée, is hilarious, especially in the “Delishious” scene. She takes a bath for four hours with two hand mirrors and a duo of rubber duckies while praising her beauty and accomplishments (none, really). Six beautiful Bubble Girls in pink corsets and four Bubble Guys pop out of the tub in tights and swashbuckler shirts. (Hey, it’s a musical!) Check out Eileen’s gorgeous wedding dress that trails to the lobby.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is a relatively new production that played on Broadway in 2012 with recent Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Broderick, and Gateway is the first Long Island theatre to showcase it. While Sorge performed in the original Broadway production in another role, he’s perfect as the handsome leading man and LaVergne has performed in many regional and national tours. The leads clearly get a kick out of each other when not sparring and LaVergne has a clear, lovely voice. Valton Jackson as Chief Berry plays a great straight man who can harmonize with the best of them and Elyse Collier as Jeannie Muldoon, who’s looking for a duke, and Aaron Fried as Duke Mahoney, a duke without a title, are adorable. The cast tackles cartwheels, splits, tap dancing and the Charleston effortlessly; Gateway tapped 2014 Tony Award winning choreographer Peggy Hickey, who won for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” and it shows. Add music director Charlie Reuter, who conducted the first national tour of this show, and his orchestra and you’ll have a blast time-traveling back to jazz babies and madcap times.

 

Dan's Papers

Genevieve Horsburgh

 

What do bootlegging, tap dancing and Sally Struthers have in common? They’re all on stage at the Gateway Playhouse in its current production of Nice Work If You Can Get It. If you’re in the mood for some big time belly laughs, this show is for you!

Nice Work is a lighthearted, boisterous production with exhilarating tap dance numbers and a plot that, while predictable, is a treat for the senses to watch unfold before you. Set in the Roaring ’20s in the midst of Prohibition, with great period songs by George and Ira Gershwin and talent directly from Broadway and the silver screen, Nice Work is irresistible.

Although many theatergoers will be drawn in by the amazing Struthers, who is top-notch, of course, many will also be blown away by the spectacular talents of the captivating leads. Joey Sorge as the dashingly handsome Jimmy Winter is captivating. This smooth crooner had me melting—especially when he sang falsetto. Sorge is romantic and utterly charming as Jimmy, a wealthy playboy who has never worked a day in his life but is on to his third—or fourth?—loveless marriage, as he is about to tie the knot with the self-proclaimed best dancer in America, the spoiled-rotten Eileen Evergreen.

On the night of his bachelor party Jimmy drunkenly stumbles upon Billie Bendix, played by Amanda Lea Lavergne. Lavergne has a powerful voice that is perfect for this role. Billie is no delicate flower, and Lavergne is charming as the uncoordinated, boyish and tough Billie. Billie is a bootlegger, and she and her pals Cookie and Duke are working that night, trying to find a place to store the 400 cases of rum they have stowed away on their ship. Billie discovers that Jimmy has a large beach house on Long Island, and decides that will be the perfect place for her and her bootlegging friends to hide their hooch. While singing “Treat Me Rough,” Billie works—to great comic effect—to seduce Jimmy with her decidedly un-sexy moves. Jimmy is completely smitten with the adorable Billie, and the two are on track and falling hard for each other.

Struthers plays Duchess Estonia Dulworth and she is as entertaining as one could hope. Her deadpan expressions and dry wit had the audience hooting with laughter. She and Cookie, played by a very funny James Beaman, have a crackling chemistry together and play off of each other delightfully. The scene where Cookie gets the uptight, noble temperance leader drunk and swinging from the chandelier in the number “Looking for a Boy” is surely one of the funniest sequences I have ever witnessed.

Playing Jimmy’s spoiled fiancée Eileen is the delightful Breighanna Minnema, who is wonderful as the shallow and self-absorbed socialite. A favorite playful scene comes as Eileen indulges in a long bath and we are treated to the song “Delishious” which has to be the most delightful bit of nonsense I’ve seen in a long time. Minnema plays the high-pitched part perfectly.

Billie’s friend Duke Mahoney, played by Aaron Fried, falls for one of Jimmy’s dancing girls Jeannie Muldoon, played by Elyse Collier, and the two share a touching duet titled “Blah, Blah, Blah” that I found hysterically sweet and lovely.

Steve Brady returns to the Gateway stage as Eileen’s father, the Reverend Senator Judge Max Evergreen, and Leslie Alexander plays Jimmy’s mother, Millicent Winter, who has some impressive, ironic secrets to share.

Some of my favorite numbers of the night included the namesake song “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” sung sweetly (if a bit drunkenly) by Jimmy to Billie the night they meet. Struthers’ number “Looking for a Boy” is pure fun, as is “S’Wonderful” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” which takes us tap-dancing into intermission.

All in all, Nice Work is a solid musical that demonstrates the power of lyrics in its music. With a spectacularly talented cast and chorus, the second installment in Gateway’s summer season is undoubtedly another hit—nice work!