Mae West probably achieved more success with less talent than anyone in entertainment history. When it came to acting, singing or dancing, her grades were low. But she was brash and buxom and practically fearless, and she led the league in flaunting her sexuality at a time when it either angered or appalled people, making her a larger-than-life personality before the term had been introduced into the language.
Claudia Shear's interesting, thought-provoking play, which had a Broadway run in the spring of 2000, opened at Chesterfield Mall last night as an offering by Dramatic License Productions, and will run through Oct. 2. Shear uses three actors to portray several dozen characters, jumping here and there in time and space. Kim Furlow stars as West and as Jo, a young woman who is a fan of hers. John Reidy and B. Weller are a variety of men in her life.
Both Reidy and Weller are excellent, the former in a key role as Charlie, a film archivist and devoted fan of West. When Charlie and Jo meet at West's grave, both enter a relationship different from any they've known, sometimes warm and charming, sometimes painful, always difficult. Weller is a key as Joe Frisco, a friend and foil of many years' standing. Furlow shows considerable depth as Jo, but not quite enough as West, where she needs a little more bluster.
Carolyn Hood's direction is on the jumpy side, needing better pacing, but that problem should be solved as the run continues. Theresa Doggett's over-the-top costumes are a joy. The scenic design, by Courtney Sanazaro Sloey, and lighting, by Justine Brock, are satisfactory and Jeremy Melton's keyboard work added a pleasing touch.
Shear herself portrayed West and Jo in the original production; as a writer, she exposes some of Wests many flaws, but does not belabor them, and she uses some of West's better lines to underline her character. For example, in one of her early films, West enters a club with an armful of bracelets and when a hat check girl says, "Goodness, what beautiful bracelets," West snaps, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie." The ad-lib line remained in the film and has been repeated endlessly. She also is shown turning down the role of Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard," telling Billy Wilder she was too young for the part (she wasn't, of course), which eventually went to Gloria Swanson. Her continuing ego battles with W. C. Fields are telescoped into one strong scene with Reidy as Fields.
By the time West died, in 1980, she had reduced herself by a never-ending and useless drive to remain young, to remain able to sing and act, but she was a powerful presence on stage and screen for much of the 20th century and a prime example of the self-made person.
Dirty Blonde, by Claudia Shear, opened last night as a Dramatic License Productions production at Chesterfield Mall, and will run through Oct. 2
— Joe