US Productions of
Backwards In High Heels
Asolo Repertory Theatre (May 7-30, 2010)
San Jose Repertory Theatre (November 24 - December 19, 2010)
Playbill Online
Cleveland Playhouse (January 7-30, 2011)
International City Theatre
ICT Production, February/March, 2010: Anna Aimee White & Matt Bauer
ICT Production, February/March, 2010: Anna Aimee White & Matt Bauer
“Backwards in High Heels,” now at the International City Theatre, is an ambitious bio-musical about Ginger Rogers that treats Rogers’ life from her early days on the Orpheum circuit to her Oscar-winning turn in “Kitty Foyle. The life of Rogers, a bit of a diva who achieved early success and never looked back, hardly seems super-charged dramatic fare. However, book writer Christopher McGovern, who conceived and developed the musical with Lynnette Barkley and did the original songs and arrangements, largely redresses the limitations of his subject by making “Heels” a love story – not among Rogers and her many husbands, but between Rogers and her indomitable mother, Lela, a sometime Hollywood screenwriter who found her greatest success as a stage mother par excellence. The show features period standards interspersed with McGovern’s terrific new numbers, most notably “But…When?” – an emotion packed song reminiscent of “Rose’s Turn,” delivered from the daughter’s point of view. Music Director Darryl Archibald helms the lively offstage band. As Ginger, perky Anna Aimee White is a facile dancer whose voice alternates between wispiness and a strong belt. Nimble Matt Bauer renders a workmanlike Astaire – no mean feat."
-LA Times
"This enchanting new bio-musical about film star Ginger Rogers (1911–95), conceived by Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern, is like a time-capsule trip to movie musicals of the 1930s and ’40s. The ICT production follows a recent lavish staging of this show by FCLO Music Theatre in Fullerton, and this far more intimate rendition—using a unit set and a cast of six—proves there’s more than one way to bring good material to life.
Emphasizing exuberant song-and-dance sequences, the show is more concerned with vibrant entertainment than incisive biography, covering a relatively brief period in Rogers’ life and career. Yet the warmth of the characterizations lends depth to the proceedings, particularly that of radiant Anna Aimee White in the title role and galvanic Heather Lee as her loving but overbearing stage mother. McGovern’s book generates an intoxicating showbiz atmosphere, and his scenes are smoothly integrated into the musical segments. The score includes unforgettable classics as well as a handful of original McGovern songs, highlighted by Ginger’s stunning 11 o’clock ballad, 'What…Then?'
The four versatile supporting performers smoothly slide in and out of multiple roles. Matt Bauer’s juiciest role is Fred Astaire, Ginger’s famous dance partner in 11 films. Bauer expertly captures the suave sophistication of the legendary movie star, while convincingly channeling Astaire’s legendary dance style, in collaboration with the graceful White. Jeff Payton is likewise superb in several key roles—including Ginger’s boozing first husband, Jack Culpepper; actor Jimmy Stewart; and fey choreographer Hermes Pan. Robin De Lano aces a huge range of characterizations: a belting Ethel Merman, a bitchy Katharine Hepburn, an aloof Bette Davis, and (in drag) Ginger’s fourth husband, Jacques Bergerac. Playing diverse characters—including husband No. 2, Lew Ayres—Christopher Carothers sings and dances with aplomb.
Music director Darryl Archibald leads a splendid five-member combo, and choreographer Melissa Giattino yields stellar results. The handsome visual elements evoke the spirit of old Hollywood. Director Caryn Desai’s production is joyous; you’ll have to resist the temptation to dance in the aisles."
-Backstage
"It’s been said that Ginger Rogers became a star
doing everything her dance partner Fred Astaire could do
… but backwards in high heels. The Oscar-winning
actress-dancer now gets her very own tribute musical,
Lynette Barkley and Charles McGovern’s Backwards In High
Heels, and it’s hard to imagine a better production of
“The Ginger Musical” than the one just opened at Long
Beach’s International City Theatre.
The ICT production gives the four-member ensemble
supporting Anna Aimee White’s Ginger and Heather Lee as
Ginger’s mother Lela the chance to show off their triple
threats in a variety of contexts and roles. For another,
since Backwards In High Heels is a “memory musical,” told
as the reminiscences of its star, a single, gorgeous art
deco set by Stephen Gifford is all that’s needed here,
lit to showy perfection by Jared A. Sayeg.
It helps enormously to have Broadway talent in several of
the major roles, most notably the captivating White and
the dazzling Lee, and a supporting quartet (Matt Bauer,
Christopher Carothers, Robin De Lano, Jeff Payton) who
prove every bit their equals.
Then there’s Melissa Giattino’s sensational choreography,
which has more taps per minute than probably any musical
since 42nd Street, and musical director Darryl Archibald
on piano conducting an excellent five-piece backstage
orchestra.
All this has been brought together with imagination and
flair by director caryn desai to make for two hours of
Hollywood glamour and magic.
White and Lee are stellar performers whose talents have
been showcased on both coasts, and Broadway and Los
Angeles audiences are the winners. The two stars are the
very definition of triple threats, the roles of Ginger
and Lela giving them a chance to show off all three
“chops,” acting, singing, and dancing in equal measure.
White effectively transitions from stars-in-her-eyes teen
to self-confident film star. Lee combines maternal
love and pride with mother-hen protectiveness and some
fancy foot moves of her own.
Broadway’s Bauer is principally Fred to White’s Ginger,
and with his lithe physique and graceful moves, proves
quite convincing as the film legend, as he does in
several other roles including the euphemistically dubbed
Bugs Berk and Ginger Hubby #3 Jack Briggs. The
always excellent Carothers is in equally fine form as
Ginger’s dad Jack, who kidnapped her briefly as a baby,
producer George Schaeffer and Ginger Hubby #2 Lew Ayers.
The sensational De Lano not only gets to be Hubby #4
Jacques Bergerac in male drag, but a bevy of female
superstars—Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene
Dietrich, and most notably a show-stopping turn as Ethel
Merman and her trademark hit “I Got Rhythm.” The splendid
Payton is flamboyant choreographer Hermes Pan, Jimmy
Stewart, and Ginger Hubby #5 William Marshall.
Backwards In High Heels is manna for movie, musical
theater, and nostalgia buffs, but its story of a young
girl aspiring to and conquering show business remains as
current as TV’s American Idol. My guess is that Miss
Rogers herself would be the first to stand up and cheer
this tuneful and dance-ful tribute to her life and
talents."
-Stage Scene LA
ICT Production, February/March, 2010
Heather Lee & Anna Aimee White
Broadway World Interview with Heather
Lee
ICT announces
casting
Backwards In High Heels Opens in
LA
Stage
Happenings
Long Beach
Gazette
Movie Dearest: Glamor Girls in
LA
Dancing & Singing Into The
Past
Buzzline
Fullerton
Civic Light Opera
Melissa
Wolfkain & Company in the FCLO production
Cynthia
Ferrer & Melissa Wolfkain in the FCLO production
"(Rob) Barron's staging has the epic sweep of any
great stage or screen bio, while Helm gleans top-grade
vocals from the sizable cast and pleasing sounds from the
10-person pit orchestra.
Yet credit for the show's essentially Hollywood biopic
flavor must go to McGovern, who wrote the libretto,
created new musical arrangements of the vintage songs and
wrote four original numbers: "Domesticity," "Tame These
Feet," "But ...When?" and "The Sport of Art." Also at the
heart of Barron's staging is Melissa WolfKlain's
portrayal of Rogers. While she bears only a slight
physical resemblance to the icon, WolfKlain embodies what
gave Rogers her screen appeal – the image of the spunky
blonde with the big, warm heart. WolfKlain also puts
Ginger's driving ambition and unquenchable thirst for
recognition on display, along with soft vocals and
(naturally) top-notch dancing. Late in the play, her
impassioned solo "But ... When?" serves as the
character's emotional high point. In what's essentially a
co-lead performance, Cynthia Ferrer shines as mom Lela, a
stage mother so savvy she makes "Gypsy's" Mama Rose look
like a pushover. Having already had a taste of Hollywood
as a screenwriter, she is, in effect, like an older, more
cynical version of Ginger, and Ferrer captures Lela's
zeal, pragmatism and, yes, sentimentality. The
production's period look is superbly realized by Mela
Hoyt-Haydon's costumes, Dwight Richard Odle's set designs
and Donna Ruzika's lighting. The supporting cast members
and seven-man, seven-woman ensemble are all sterling
singers and dancers, propelling "Backwards" forward to
its triumphant conclusion."
-Orange County Register
FLORIDA
STAGE (World Premiere)
"We're
In The Money"
THE COMPANY
in the Florida Stage World Premiere Production of
BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS
Photo credit: Susan Lerner © 2007
“A
fine romance!”
Playbill
Online
“Timeless
toe-tapping,
Backwards In High Heels
debuts a hit!”
Edge,
Ft. Lauderdale
click
here for
Playbill Online
Feature
click here for
Palm Beach Post
Feature
click here for
Edge Fort Lauderdale
Feature
OTHER
PRESS from the World Premiere Production
of
BACKWARDS
IN HIGH HEELS
"Don't
Miss! More
ambitious than
previous crowd pleasers, there is a lot to like about
Backwards In High Heels – a World Premiere that is
virtually sold-out. Amber Stone (as Ginger) is a pert,
perky bundle of energy who arrives propelled from her
mother’s womb with her tap shoes on, ready to stake her
claim in the spotlight. The cleverest conceit of
co-creators Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern is
raiding the movie musicals Rogers made with Fred Astaire,
removing songs from their celluloid context and using
them to tell Rogers' history. Even better is when the RKO
scores come up short and McGovern feels compelled to
write original songs for three spots in the show. Early
on, teenage, tap-happy Rogers sings of her career
aspirations with a kinetic McGovern number called Tame
These Feet, so evocative that it is bound to have the
audience wondering which Rogers-Astaire movie it comes
from. Covering a 34-year swath of Rogers' life to her
post-Astaire Hollywood career, Backwards in High Heels
moves at a brisk pace, and its energy rarely flags. There
is plenty of reason to think that this show will have a
substantial life beyond South
Florida.”
Palm
Beach Post
“Ambitious
and original! Ginger Rogers finally gets her due in
Backwards In High Heels. The creative team has taken the
basic biography of Ginger Rogers and intertwined it with
the song and dance routines that made her famous.
'Intelligence, adaptability and talent’ are three
essential ingredients to success in show business, she
tells us in the first scene, and then she proceeds to
demonstrate all three qualities in her character. It’s a
wonderful tribute, long overdue on the12th anniversary of
the star’s death. “
Boca
News
“Broadway
pizzazz! Immaculate…Backwards In High Heels is a
perfectly calibrated musical. Heels flies by with the
slick efficiency of Rogers’ memorable movies with dance
partner Fred Astaire. Original songs by McGovern
beautifully compliment standards and prove just as
catchy. The acting, song and choreography carve out a
result that transcends regional theatre. Don’t be
surprised to see Backwards in High Heels coming soon to a
movie theatre near you!”
Boynton
Times
“Utterly
delightful…Proving that there is still soul at the bottom
of these old showbiz warhorses. Backwards In High Heels
immediately begins smacking its audience with big, sloppy
nostalgia kisses and it does not let up. The story begins
with 15-year-old Ginger tapping madly around her room,
(Ginger) cannot help herself – she’s got rhythm! She
sings about this, introducing the show’s first
Christopher McGovern original – a song called Tame These
Feet, which is, to this reviewer’s ears, the equal of any
of the score’s better known Gershwin/Berlin/Kern songs.
Backwards In High Heels is easily the trickiest and
biggest spectacle offered by Florida Stage this
season…and it easily succeeds as intended: It’s a
pleasant time warp to the Golden Age, when showbiz giants
roamed the earth. Backwards In High Heels should delight
anybody who misses those days, even if they never lived
though them.”
Broward
New Times
“An
enchanted evening. The assets are piled so high that an
audience leaves entertained... Backwards in High Heels, a
musical biography of Ginger Rogers, is blessed with
terrific choreography, adroit dancers, fluid staging,
strong singing… and a score that cherry picks the finest
songs from 1930s movie musicals. The greatest underlying
asset of the show is choreographer, director and
co-creator Lynnette Barkley, whose staging is crisp,
dynamic and vibrant. Everybody and everything, including
a bed, swirls and glides. Jeremy Doucette's elegant set
features a turntable that Barkley seamlessly works into
the choreography as dancers step on and off the moving
stage. Christopher McGovern has deftly arranged the
Gershwin and Berlin standards, provided considerable
underscoring and added three songs of his own to allow
Ginger to voice doubts and dreams…when the melody is
flowing and the tap shoes are chattering away, all is
nirvana.”
Florida
Sun-Sentinel
“High
Heels dances to the top! Amber Stone as Rogers is
undeniably captivating…loaded with song and dance, often
quite cleverly conceived. Embraceable You is deftly
arranged as a courtship duet between Rogers and her first
husband, the irresponsible Jack Culpepper. McGovern
supplies the musical’s showstopper But When?, and (Amber)
Stone’s delivery ensures the song accomplishes its
goal.”
Palm
Beach Daily News
AMBER
STONE
as GINGER in the Florida Stage World Premiere Production
of BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS
Photo credit: Sig Bokalders © 2007