Review: An evocative tribute to Ethel Merman and Mary Martin at Act II Playhouse
The Ambler theater celebrates the friendship of two Broadway legends.
Ethel Merman and Mary Martin were so different as singers and personalities that it’s startling to be reminded that at least twice they played the same title roles: Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun and Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! In each case, the brassy Merman got the Broadway nod, while the more refined Martin starred on tour.
Act II Playhouse’s original show, Together Off-Broadway: Merman and Martin, stresses the friendship and mutual admiration of these two leading ladies, who sometimes sang together (and with everyone from Bing Crosby to Judy Garland) on stage and television.
This 70-minute showcase isn’t bursting with revelations, nor with drama of any sort. A revue framed by storytelling, it’s close to pure nostalgia. But it boasts evocative performances by Sarah J. Gafgen (Merman) and Meredith Beck (Martin), doing justice to an array of iconic songs by George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerry Herman, and others. For Broadway enthusiasts, that may be enough.
Gafgen and Beck have been portraying these same characters for years, often at local retirement communities (perfect). Their comfort with each other is evident. For the Ambler theater, they have created new material in collaboration with Tony Braithwaite, artistic director of Act II Playhouse and the show’s director, and music director Dan Matarazzo. Matarazzo also plays piano, sings, and inserts the occasional quip.
The first wow of Merman and Martin is just how well Gafgen has captured Merman’s distinctive vocal style and outsized charisma. It takes only a bit longer for Beck to impress with her delicate soprano and winning manner. Their character transformations are assisted by Constance Case’s wigs and Janus Stefanowicz’s costumes, which culminate in a pair of dazzling, sequined red gowns accessorized with feather headdresses and deco necklaces.
On an intimate stage, the two women relate the arc of their careers and run through their hits. We learn that Merman, while holding a secretarial day job, was discovered singing at a club by George and Ira Gershwin. In 1930, the brothers cast her in Girl Crazy, which gave her one of her signature numbers, “I Got Rhythm.”
With an unamplified voice that could reach the balcony, Merman went on to star in Anything Goes, Call Me Madam, Annie Get Your Gun, and Gypsy. Gafgen’s Gypsy medley is, not surprisingly, one of the show’s highlights.
Martin found patrons in Rodgers and Hammerstein and originated lead roles in South Pacific and The Sound of Music. Beck offers generous selections from both those shows, as well as the wistful “Neverland” from her indelible starring turn in Peter Pan.
In 1960, the two singers faced off against each other for acting honors at the Tonys: Merman for Mama Rose in Gypsy, and Martin for Maria in The Sound of Music. Martin won. The friendship survived.
Relentlessly upbeat, Merman and Martin gives short shrift to the stars’ private lives and struggles. Late in the show, almost as an afterthought, we learn that Merman endured four divorces and the death of her 25-year-old daughter. The twice-married Martin was long estranged from her actor son, Larry Hagman, of I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas fame. An expanded version of the show could wring more drama from those challenges.
“Together Off-Broadway: Merman and Martin,” presented by Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, through Aug. 7. Tickets: $37-$49; $15 for students. Information: 215-654-0200 or act2.org.