"Strike Up the Band" a real oldies toe-tapper
By Rob Lowman

The 1927 musical "Strike Up the Band" is a delightful bit of fluff that has survived all these years because of its classic George and Ira Gershwin songs and the witty barbs of George S. Kaufman. The current UCLA's Freud Playhouse revival of the musical is simply toe-tapping fun, with a strong cast, including a terrific ensemble, plenty of zingers and a lot of high notes (some literally).

While no one is ever going to confuse it with the more serious musicals like "Oklahoma" that came afterward, "Band" isn't devoid of social and satirical topicality. Its initial outing was a box office flop, however. Kaufman's story of a cheese manufacturer (Horace J. Fletcher, played by Charles Nelson Reilly) who helps push the United States into a war with Switzerland over trade tariffs because it would be profitable for his business was a bit too much for audiences at the time. A less satirical version that included, "I've Got a Crush on You," from another Gershwin musical, succeeded in 1930.

In 1998, writer David Ives for the Encores! series in New York went back to the original 1927 for his adaptation - keeping "Crush" and adding some jokes - for the Reprise! version at the Freud.

Veteran actor Reilly hams up his role in the best sense - with superb vaudevillian timing, which is the only way some of these jokes would work.

But Kaufman's satirical barbs aren't lost in laughs. His targets of big business, blind patriotism, xenophobia and jingoism are all hit soundly.

The conceit of Fletcher underwriting the war as long as it's named after him almost seems prescient in these days of corporate sponsorship. "Money isn't everything," laments Fletcher, "but if I had it my way, it would be."

Amid the chuckles, you can't overlook the Gershwins' terrific songs, including the title number and the torch classic "The Man I Love." There are also lesser-known tunes like "Homeward Bound" and "Soon" that remind you - even in this fluff - just how sophisticated George Gershwin was as a composer.

But no mater how good the material, it's up to the cast to deliver, and they do in this production - big time.

Ruth Williamson, with her strong physical comedy presence, is marvelous as the man-hungry, gold-digging Mrs. Draper. She also excels vocally on "Crush" and "How About a Man." Actually, the entire cast deserves mention. All the principals are quite good, and they seem to be having fun on stage, which is infectious to the audience. The fact that there isn't a weak performance in this production is a testament to how far the 5-year-old Reprise! series has come.

This is nothing ragged about "Band." Its engine is an outstanding 11-member ensemble that powers the action and whose singing and dancing often brings applause from the audience. About the only downside is the few times the production tries to get too cute. The Marxian character of George Spelvin (talking like Groucho and acting like Harpo) begins to wear after a little while.

Maybe this was meant to be a nod to Kaufman, who wrote "Coconuts" for the Marx Brothers. Supposedly it wasn't a pleasant experience for the playwright because the brothers would ad-lib throughout the play.

And there's another little oddity: that the title tune has become such a standard during patriotic celebrations like the Fourth of July. Originally, there was meant to be some irony, but as with this production, it's just so good, you can't help tapping your feet and having fun.

It's hard to believe that "Strike Up the Band," the musical satire by George S. Kaufman, with songs by George and Ira Gershwin, was considered so scathingly harsh and grim in 1927 that audiences rejected it. Today, in a well-mounted revival at the Freud Playhouse, the political content seems dated and quaint, a slim pretext on which to hang some of Broadway's greatest songs.

To most auds, the showcasing of these songs will be enough. As directed by Don Amendolia, "Strike Up the Band" sings and dances away any objections we might have to inane dialogue or plot contrivances.

It opens with a clever establishment number, "The Horace J. Fletcher American Cheese Company," which introduces us to the characters and sets the plot in motion. The zany premise centers on the American tariff against Swiss cheese that elicits such an angry response from Switzerland that Horace J. Fletcher (Charles Nelson Reilly), owner of the American Cheese Co., pushes the U.S. to declare war.

A young pacifist, Jim Townsend (Michael Maguire), learns that Fletcher has been using Grade B milk for his cheese, incurring the enmity of war zealots who side with Fletcher and brand Townsend a traitor for owning a Swiss watch.

In the midst of this goofy political chicanery, Townsend falls in love with Fletcher's daughter Joan (Melissa Dye). There's an amusing subplot involving Fletcher with a man-hungry woman, Mrs. Draper (Ruth Williamson). Another young couple round out the array of romantic conflicts: Mrs. Draper's daughter Anne (Hope Levy), who loves Fletcher employee Timothy (Troy Britton Johnson), but is forbidden by her mother to marry him until the mother finds a husband.

It's a lot to keep up with, and would hardly be worth the effort if the dazzling numbers didn't come barreling down in quick succession. The entire cast is multi-talented. Maguire and Dye are delightful pairing on "The Man I Love" and equally effective doing the "Soon" duet. Other standouts include the sensational ensemble socking across "Oh, This Is Such a Lovely War" and "Strike Up the Band."

Williamson is a confident and arresting comedienne. Roles that feature predatory, middle-age man chasers are invariably overdone and embarrassing, but Williamson finds the humanity beneath her farcical surface.

Her lyric phrasing on "I've Got a Crush on You" is as much a tribute to her acting as her singing. Charles Nelson Reilly starts out tentatively and takes a while to find his footing, but he makes the greedy cheese magnate engaging and even touching.

Musical directors Peter Matz and Gerald Sternbach preserve the magic of Gershwin's tunes, and Gene Castle rates a big hand for his inventive choreography. By dressing up this old-fashioned trifle, costume designer Scott A. Lane, lighting designer Tom Ruzika and sound designer Philip G. Allen also contribute strongly toward turning "Strike Up the Band" into lively entertainment.

By Joel Hirschhorn