Nineteen eighties prime-time television soap-opera
legends Joan Collins and Linda Evans square off again in the current
national tour of Legends, with hilarious results.
The latest installment of the critically acclaimed Broadway Series
South series emphasizes the appearance, live onstage, of the “Dynasty” stars,
resuming their old, fiercely adversarial personae in director John
Bowab’s revamped version of an R-rated 1986 comedy by James
Kirkwood, Jr. (A Chorus Line and P.S. Your Cat Is
Dead!). Moreover, although it may not be a classic backstage
comedy — Legends has more than a modicum of sex,
barnyard language, and brief (male) nudity to spice up the proceedings — this
show is more than just a star package. Collins and Evans have generously
given their strong supporting cast carte blanche to steal
every scene in which they appear.
Once again dressed to thrill by “Dynasty” costume
designer Nolan Miller, Joan Collins and Linda Evans keep the verbal
brickbats flying — much to the audience’s delight — as
Sylvia Glenn and Leatrice Monsee, two aging and virtually penniless
former sirens of the silver screen whom conniving Off-Broadway
producer Joe Farrell (Martin Klemmer) sees as a marquee matchup
for a first play by an unknown playwright. Farrell hopes that the
prospect of pairing Glenn and Monsee, whose legendary feud once
provided some of Hollywood’s juiciest gossip, will prove
catnip for investors and the news media.
Nobody plays a bad girl better than Joan Collins, and nobody plays
a good girl better Linda Evans. Their incendiary exchanges in Legends rekindle
fond memories of epic showdowns between Alexis and Krystle — only
this time there is no titanic wrestling match in a fountain.
Collins plays the ever-cynical, always on-the-make
Sylvia Glenn with a smirk and sneer; and Evans provides the perfect
foil as Pollyannaish Leatrice Monsee. Unbeknownst to each other
(but not to producer Joe Farrell), both women have fallen on hard
times and are desperately in need of a paycheck — not to
mention a comeback vehicle for their rapidly dissipating careers.
So, when Farrell tells them that movie star Paul Newman — old
blue eyes himself — is interested in playing the male lead
in his new play, they agree to meet with him to discuss their possible
participation. But when Sylvia and Leatrice arrive early for their
get-acquainted meeting, it is quickly clear that neither woman
has forgotten nor forgiven all the mean tricks that they played
on each other, all those years ago.
Martin Klemmer is a scream as over-caffeinated wheeler-dealer
Joe Farrell. The series of desperate fast-talking telephone calls
that Farrell makes to pull his production together provide some
of the show’s funniest moments, and the scene in which he
unknowingly consumes a fistful of brownies laced with hashish is
a showstopper.
Will Holman keeps the audience in stitches with his outrageous
antics as black Chippendales dancer Boom-Boom Johnson. Indeed,
his impressive leap to the top of a baby-grand piano during his
comic striptease is just one of the surprises that occurs during
his R-rated segment of the show.
Ethan Matthews is amusing as the wily Cop who shows
up when Sylvia and Leatrice take their increasingly physical shouting
match out on the balcony of the posh 18th-floor Sutton Place apartment
where they are to meet Joe Farrell. But it is African-American
actress Tonye Patano who steals scene after scene, strutting and
fretting as Aretha, an irrepressible maid whom Sylvia Glenn enlists
in her futile scheme to impress Leatrice Monsee and fool Joe Farrell
by borrowing a friend’s apartment and pretending it’s
her own. Patano brings a lot of snap, crackle, and pop to her smart-alecky
role as Aretha, who may be a servant in uniform but is nobody’s
fool. Aretha more than holds her own when Boom-Boom shows up unexpectedly
to rock her world and when relations between Leatrice and Sylvia
rapidly degenerate as the two old rivals go nuclear with each other.
The brisk comic staging of director/adapter John
Bowab combines with the theatrical magic of set designer Jesse
Poleshuck, lighting designer Phil Monat, costume designer Nolan
Miller, and associate costume designer Robin L. McGee to make Legends a
night to remember. Producers Ben Sprecher, William P. Miller,
Percy Gibson, Wendy Federman, Spring Sirkin, Max Cooper, David
Mirvish, and Ed Mirvish may never open this catfight comedy on
the Great White Way; but they have royally entertained audiences
across America who came out to see Linda Evans and Joan Collins
reprise their good girl vs. bad girl battle royale. Moreover, it
is the crisp comic characterizations of the entire cast
that Broadway Series South patrons will most remember, because
they inspired a rowdy standing ovation after Tuesday’s opening-night
performance.
Broadway Series South presents Legends,
Starring Joan Collins and Linda Evans, Thursday-Friday,
May 3-4, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 5, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday,
May 6, at 2 and 7 p.m. in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in the Progress
Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 1 E. South St., Raleigh, North
Carolina. $23-$63. Progress Energy Box Office: 919/831-6060. Group
Rates (for groups of 20 or more): 919/857-4565, group@raleighconvention.com.
Note: Arts
Access, Inc of Raleigh, NC (http://www.artsaccessinc.org/)
will audio describe the 8 p.m. May 5th performance. Broadway
Series South: http://www.broadwayseriessouth.com The
Show: http://www.legendsthecomedy.com/ [inactive 12/07].
Joan Collins: http://www.joancollins.net/ (official
web site), http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=35898 (Internet
Broadway Database), and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001058/ (Internet
Movie Database), and http://joancollinsshrine.8m.com/ (Joan
Collins Shrine) [inactive]. Linda Evans: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002067/ (Internet
Movie Database). "Dynasty" (Internet
Movie Database): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081856/.
