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Entertainment

Bawdy business

The Show Palace resurrects Sugar Babies , the burlesque musical, as subtlety takes a pratfall.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published February 18, 2005

Burlesque was all the rage from 1905 to 1930, with its risque sketches, dancing girls, sight gags, fright wigs and belly laughs.

The 1979 Broadway show Sugar Babies was an idealized version of what was in reality a pretty raunchy theater genre. But, ah, isn't that what nostalgia is all about?

Like the Broadway version, the Show Palace Dinner Theatre's Sugar Babies , opening Feb. 25, includes the most beloved and memorable characters and moments from that century-old theater staple.

Heading the roster are Show Palace favorites Matthew McGee (Mary Sunshine in Chicago; Hysterium in Funny/Forum ) and Candler Budd (Mr. Cellophane in Chicago, John Smith in Run for Your Wife ) as Top Banana and Second Banana.

A show lik e Sugar Babies seems tailor-made for deft ad-libbers like McGee and Budd, who once stopped a performance of Showboat to go back and start a flubbed scene from the beginning. The pair seem to revel in adding dialogue and stage business, especially when something goes awry in the midst of a scene.

"I can't wait to see what they're going to do with this (show)," said co-producer Nick Sessa.

Playing the Prima Donna (the role played by Ann Miller on Broadway) is Katie Kerwin (Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes ; Velma in Chicago), who has worked with songwriter-playwright Jerry Herman and singer-dancer Gene Nelson in addition to her work at the Show Palace and other venues. Ms. Kerwin also choreographed the show.

The saucy Soubrette is played by Millicent K. Hunnicutt, who has had featured roles in Anything Goes, Show Palace Christmas and The Will Rogers Follies.

The stars are backed by a chorus of 10 dancers, led by dance captain Andrea Eskin.

Special guest performer is David Hanson, who wrote, produced, directed and performed in the 1972 Las Vegas revue The Best of Burlesque . The show has toured since then, including a stop at the Show Palace in 1997, when a tribute to fan dancer Sally Rand by Hanson's wife, Sandy O'Hara, was still part of the show. Hanson will play the Straight Man/Comic in the upcoming production.

The show includes the familiar Meet Me Round the Corner sketch, as well as the Schoolroom Scene, the lascivious judge in the courtroom sketch and a long list of tunes: The Sunny Side of the Street, I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Don't Blame Me and I Feel a Song Comin' On.

In addition to the regular schedule, the Show Palace has added four Thursday evening shows because of strong advance ticket sales.

WHAT : Sugar Babies

WHERE: Show Palace Dinner Theatre, 16128 U.S. 19, Hudson

WHEN: Feb. 25-April 3. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and March 3, 17, 24 and 31; 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and most Saturdays; and 3 p.m. Sundays. Doors open two hours before each show for buffet and cash bar.

TICKETS: Dinner and show, $39.50; show only, $28.45; children 12 and younger, $21.95 and $16.95, all plus tax and tip. Call 863-7949 in west Pasco; toll free elsewhere at 1-888-655-7469.

[Last modified February 18, 2005, 00:15:15]