By Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO—OK, You want some respect, ladies? Head down to the San Diego Repertory Theatre and pop in to Dorothy Marcic’s Respect, A Musical Celebration of Women and you will get an earful!
Four local and highly respected musical talents, Nancy Snow Carr, Leigh Scarritt, Lisa H. Payton and Kelsey Venter sing their hearts out on the Lyceum Stage downtown as narrator Leigh Scarritt takes on the role of the respected Dr. Dorothy Marcic whose musical tribute to women, adapted from her book Respect: Women and Popular Music, depictsthe roles of women over time through music and commentary.
The show illustrates the romantic beliefs that women held throughout the 20th century with no less that 40 tunes whose lyrics mime the signs of the times. The songs and lyrics are taken from country, rock, Broadway and a touch of gospel and blues. The musical journey travels through the great depression, to Barbie Dolls to Rosa Parks.
With the opening lament, made popular by Patsy Cline, Nancy Snow Carr belts out “I Go To Pieces” setting the tone for how women depended so on men, which is immediately followed by Lisa H. Payton’s mournful “Blues in the Night” followed by yet another dose of how women based their feelings on how they were treated by their lovers, with Kelsey’s “Johnny Angel”.
Johnny Angel, how I love him.
He’s got something I can’t resist,
but he doesn’t even know that I exist.
Wow, what saps we were!
Marcic’s jukebox revue evolved from a series of lectures in 1999 and later developed into a two-hour-plus musical tribute to women with a bit of Marcic’s personal history thrown into the mix to guide us through the years. By 2004 it became a full-scale musical piece and was ready for prime time.
Projected on three discs hanging from the ceiling we are introduced to Marcic female family members and occasionally Scarritt, portraying Marcic, breaks out into solo as she so beautifully does with “Piece of My Heart” and “In My Daughter’s Eyes”. Along with the family members women who made a difference, Estee Lauder, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Walters, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Rosa Parks, Vera Wang and Michelle Obama to name a few, are also projected on high. Mark Valenzuela is credited for the original sound and video design.
Cris O’Bryon’s on-stage, four-piece band (where were the girls?) leads the gals throughout the evening as the anthology of songs come on fast and furious but never more so than the gals could handle. Carmela Guiteras Mayo’s choreography keeps the troupe in constant motion as they rotate their routines sometimes solo and oft times as an ensemble with some notations from Scarritt in between.
Not to worry though, it’s strictly entertaining and doesn’t delve too deeply into the gender gap. The musical just scratches the surface.
Credit for the success of this musical revue is always about the energy and talent of the performers. We have an overflowing amount of it as can be felt coming from each of the gals. Kelsey Venter’s “These Boots Were Made for Walking” brought a few chuckles and applause for the overall look and tone while her “It Must Be Him” suggests the struggles women faced just waiting for the phone to ring. Leigh Scarritt is wonderful as narrator and of course (for someone not quite five feet tall) for belting a tune out of the theatre.
Lisa H. Payton’s Blues Medley, “God bless the Child” and “Taint Nobody’s Business if I Do” are right on target and perfectly situated before the salute to armed forces. Nancy Snow Carr just coming off from a hilarious run of “Servant of Two Masters” at Lamb’s Payers Theatre, is the real deal singing “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend”, (My friends and I were busy Googling what show that came from during intermission) ”Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey”, “Whatever Lola Wants” and “Where The Boys Are”.
At the end of the show we the audience were coaxed to our collective feet and joined in with the cast singing and swaying to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”.
These gals are terrific and “They All Enjoy Being A Girl”.
Take a trip, take some friends and head downtown and give these gals the respect they deserve.
“…The equality of men and women is one of the principals taught by Bahá u lláh: The world of humanity has two wings–one is women the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly.”
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through June 24th
Phone: 619-544-1000
Production Type: Jukebox Musical Revue
Where: 79 Horton Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101
Ticket Prices: $42.00-$57.00
Web: lyceumevents.org
Venue: Lyceum Theatre
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Davis is a San Diego-based freelance writer. She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com