WHAT THE BLONDS PREFER
by Don Shirley

The title may sound antiquated, yet the 1949 musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was never really about what gentlemen want.

It’s about what the siren Lorelei Lee wants- to bag a wealthy husband. And the practice of screening potential spouses for their moola has not been completely banished from the 21st Century- or from certain social strata in L.A.

So while the fizzy Reprise! revival of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, is set in the ‘20s, it isn’t from a completely different universe. That’s why a surprising percentage of the jokes hit their targets- that, plus the fact that they’re delivered by Alice Ripley.

Ripley plays Lorelei, who was created on stage by Carol Channing and played in the much more familiar 1953 movie by Marilyn Monroe.

Ripley is no Monroe clone, but her looks are, well, charismatic. She could ignite a sudden interest in musical comedy among certain heterosexual men.

Some of her poses adopt the Monroe style. She narcissistically sings “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in front of a full-length mirror, while two hunky guys keep enhancing her initially skimpy outfit with additional items of glittery jewelry, each of which sparks little paroxysms of pleasure.

Still, Ripley wisely shuns Monroe’s breathy vocal quality. This is a stage musical, after all- its star needs a bigger sound, which Ripley delivers, even adding a quasi-bluesy growl occasionally.
The stage Lorelei is also a somewhat more substantial character than the movie version. The stage script was written by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, and this Lorelei tells us more of her personal history- she shot a cad back home in Arkansas. She’s less of a cream puff. And near the end, Lorelei executes some financial wizardry that would have baffled her movie counterpart.

It would still be a mistake to use this production as a fundraiser for the National Organization for Women. But even NOW members might enjoy an exchange in which the heir Henry Spofford (Hugh Panaro) discusses how he might have to get a job. When his girlfriend (Valarie Pettiford, in the Jane Russell role from the movie) sympathizes, he points out that she works (as a chorine). Of course, she replies- she’s a girl. Pettiford, whose long limbs and sultry voice are best known from “Fosse,” smoothly handles the tart retorts of Lorelei’s loyal but less venal friend.

Panaro’s role isn’t as interesting as the two very different roles into which it was divided in the movie; here he’s simply an Arrow Shirt-style straight shooter. Spofford’s main dramatic attribute is that his voice “sure packs a wallop,” says his girlfriend, and Panaro’s tenor meets those expectations.

A handful of supporting players enhances the comedy. Ian Abercrombie is at his most elfin as an English sugar daddy, while Ruth Williamson successfully staggers through the role of his sloshed wife. Tom Beyer projects scrappy resilience as Lorelei’s rich beau, and Greg Zerkle is amusingly pompous as his rival. The script also gets off some licks about their business rivalry- Beyer’s character is a button company heir, while Zerkle’s big lug is attempting to dethrone buttons with the newfangled zipper. Kimberly Lyon generates a few chuckles as an oddball chorus girl who practices her dancing nonstop.

Dixieland orchestrations of the sprightly Jule Styne and Leo Robin score and Bill Hargate’s spangly costumes place the action in the ‘20s at its most roaring. In a REPRISE! first, the onstage band is on two moving platforms, allowing more flexibility for John Bowab’s blocking. Bowab and musical director Peter Matz streamlined the script, replacing the character of Spofford’s mother with references to his father, who is represented only by a big snoring sound effect. They also enlisted an audience member to speak two lines as the minister in the climactic wedding.

That wedding is supposed to be followed by a brief reprise of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” but on opening night a premature lighting blackout precluded it, making the final moment of the show seem abrupt.

Jule Styne, who provided the music for “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” as well as scores for “Gypsy” and “Funny Girl,” once was identified by Leonard Bernstein as “the best and most underrated composer of his generation.” His tunes for “Blondes” are so infectious and memorable that they single-handedly keep an old-fashioned, superficial show afloat. Book, by Anita Loos and Jospeh Fields, is a loosely constructed, fragmentary foundation, but Styne’s melodies (with incisive, witty lyrics by Leo Robin) provide characterization and a good-natured atmosphere that divert attention from dated attitudes and situations. Director John Bowab appears to recognize the weak, expositional moments and plunges confidently past them, aided by Alan Johnson’s high kicking choreography.

The show, which had a Broadway run of 740 performances and made a star of Carol Channing, spotlights Lorelei Lee (Alice Ripley), a gold digger with a ravenous desire for diamonds, and her husband-hunting friend Dorothy Shaw (Valarie Pettiford). Leaving behind a frantic, smitten Gus (Tom Beyer), her button-manufacturer boyfriend, Lorelei sails for Paris with Dorothy and romantic liaisons start piling up.

For Dorothy, the surprise catch is wealthy Philadelphian Henry Spofford (Hugh Panaro). Lorelei, in sizzling salmon pantsuit, reels in Sir Francis Beekman (Ian Abercrombie), vegetarian zipper king Josephus Gage (Greg Zerkle) and a host of buff, sex-hungry bachelors. But through it all, we’re told that Lorelei’s true love is Gus, and a set of improbable circumstances eventually reunite them and result in a double wedding for the women.

Production takes off with Lorelei’s “I’m Just a Little Girl From Little Rock,” and escalates joyfully with “I Love What I’m Doing,” a dancing delight blending with a group of Olympic men. Other highlights are “Mami is Mimi,” socked across by two splendid dancers Lance Roberts and Abe Sylvia, and an uninhibited Kimberly Lyon.

Ripley’s finest moment comes with her playfully seductive rendition of the classic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” purring risqué lyrics before a mirror while two men outfit her with gloves and jewelry. Ripley is appealing and sensual, with lip-curling movements that recall Marliyn Monroe.

Overall, however, Ripley never fully imposes her stamp on the character. She isn’t exaggerated or eccentric enough for the role. She falls somewhere between a nice girl and a greedy one. In the scene where she confesses to having shot a molester while attending stenography school, we should feel more keenly the conflict of a young woman who has to cope with sexual pressure and exploitation from men, and its impact on her life.

Pettiford though, lacking the sharp, cutting dialogue her part deserves, sings and dances with gutsy, driving energy. Her performance is clear-eyed, tough and refreshingly unsentimental, and Panaro is likable as her lover.

Ruth Williamson, portraying an aristocrat who turns out to be an imposter, offers sparkling support. Beyer’s Gus is comedic and convincing, and Abercrombie is amusing as the women–chasing nobleman.

By Joel Hirschhorn

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” the last musical revival of the 2001-02 season by REPRISE! Broadway’s Best, is silly, delightful and utterly charming- an old-fashioned musical-comedy (it opened on Broadway in 1949 and starred Carol Channing) in its very best sense.
Sondheim, it isn’t.

“Blondes” is a light, frothy romp with lots of nostalgia, beguiling high spirits and a tuned-filled score. When it’s all over, we’re left with a comfortable glow.

With a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos (taken from a series of comic stories written by Loos in 1923), music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Leo Robin, “Blondes” introduced Lorelei Lee, the quintessential flapper/gold digger of the Roaring ‘20’s. Alice Ripley is a knockout as the current version of sexy, sassy Lorelei, whose mantra is, after all, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Whereas Channing played the role of Lorelei with wide-eyed comic wonder, Ripley, who simply attracts men, is more hip and fit for our own times. She’s playful as well as a bit wise.

As for its plot, “Blondes” tells the story of Lorelei and her best friend/chaperon Dorothy Shaw (the dazzling Valarie Pettiford), who search for happy marriages along different paths: Lorelei for money, Dorothy for love. We follow them as they cross the Atlantic on the Ile de France and invade Paris.

Only there are complications. Seems that Lorelei has been carrying on with a button magnate (the appealing and talented Tom Beyer). When he has to stay in America and go to a button convention, Lorelei and Dorothy sail to France without him.

Once on the high seas, all hell breaks loose as Lorelei negotiates for the purchase of a diamond tiara with lady Phyllis Beekman (stage veteran Ruth Williamson). Somehow, Lorelei has persuaded Lady Phyllis’ husband, sir Francis Beekman (Ian Abercrombie), to loan her the money for the tiara. And there’s also a zipper inventor and health fanatic Josephus Gage (a fine performance by Greg Zerkle), who is smitten with Lorelei.

As for Dorothy, she has fallen for Henry Spofford (Hugh Panaro is first-rate), who woos her with the lyrical “We’re Just a Kiss Apart.”

Credit John Bowab for the deft direction of a cast of 22, Bill Hargate for the lush, lovely costumes, Alan Johnson for the choreography and talented Peter Matz for the musical direction.

By Ed Kaufman