About halfway through the first act of Hart House’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the song “All About Ruprecht” begins. Laurence, a charming con man with an English accent, sings “Ruprecht’s all about sun and soda pop” to Jolene, a jovial Oklahoma heiress. She flits and dances across the stage, her shrieks of laughter reaching immeasurable octaves. “Ruprecht’s all about hugs and valentines,” Laurence continues. Meanwhile Freddy, the less-aged, less-suave con man begins to hump Laurence’s leg. The orchestra is buzzing with upbeat show tunes and Jolene’s high pitched squeals continue. With this high energy, in-your-face tone present from the very beginning, it doesn’t take long for Jeffrey Lane and David Yazbek’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to wear you down.
Based on the 1988 film of the same name, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels first premiered in 2004 and came to Broadway a year later. Of the recent surge in film-based musicals, this one certainly comes out on the better end of the scale. Set on the French Riviera, Scoundrels channels the Fred Astaire era of Hollywood musicals with its jewel-encrusted set, swaying palm trees, and an endless number of wealthy socialites ready to pass their time through song and dance. The humour is cheeky, the mood is fun, and the thin plot is there purely as a means to set up each coming musical number — the very definition of the phrase “frothy romp.” However, where Flying Down to Rio and Top Hat run at approximately an hour and a half, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels nearly doubles that, and this lengthy musical rarely seeks more low-key moments. By the end of the first act few words have been spoken without the orchestra’s accompaniment of jazzy show melodies, an effect that soon becomes overwhelming. Unfortunately Yazbek’s music and lyrics, while melodious and tuneful, have no catchy quality, and none of the 24 music numbers stand out amongst the rest.
However, for a musical with weakness in plot, the Hart House Theatre cast and crew, as usual, offer excellent performances straight to the end. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the story of two con men: Laurence (Neil Silcox) is a seasoned con artist whose suave and sophisticated act scores him big money from rich heiresses; and Freddy (Evan Dowling), a hustler whose unrefined etiquette brings him smaller sums throughout his travels. The two meet by chance and eventually fall into a bet, the loser of which must pack up and leave, never to con in the area again. With the musical’s endless array of bubbly characters, Neil Silcox’s calm, smooth demeanour served as an anchor throughout the production, his deadpan delivery contrasting well with the excitable personality of Evan Dowling’s Freddy. The two actors shared great chemistry, feeding off each other to ramp up the comedy. Another strong performance came from Cameron Johnston, as the crooked French cop Andre. The character serves as Laurence’s confidant and wise cracking foil. Johnston’s performance is nicely nuanced and his stage French accent is spot on. The three female leads had lovely, well trained voices and were quite competent actors. However, as the story requires three easily duped victims, the subtle differences between the three characters are overwhelmed by the general tone of gullibility.
It is in movement and action that Scoundrels needed to find moments of lower energy. Ashleigh Powell’s choreography was something quite spectacular. Each number exceeded in inventive qualities and was performed beautifully by the skilled chorus of dancers. Statues came to life and, for a play set in France, mimes were used accordingly. However, Powell’s creative choreography would have been better accentuated had it been contrasted with moments of stillness and quiet. Instead, it became overshadowed by the abundance of glittery costumes and sparkling set, and the sheer volume of action happening on stage.
Near the end of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the plot thickens and the audience is offered something to hold on to. Characters develop, the musical finds its ups and downs, and the ending is fulfilling. Had the orchestra and action been toned down, the musical may not have had quite the same overwhelming effect. The lengthy but simple story could have cut out much of its endlessly boisterous setup in act one, leaving the audience dazzled instead of frazzled.
