In 1927 Napa Valley, a smitten man woos a young woman he knows only through letters and postcards. She agrees to marriage not realizing that the face in the photo sent by her suitor is that of a different man. Can the two get past deception, achieve forgiveness and embrace love? The answer lies in the musical “The Most Happy Fella,” at North Coast Repertory Theater.
At the center of this May-December romance is Tony, an Italian immigrant grape grower, and Rosabella, a waitress he glimpses just once in a San Francisco diner but doesn’t have the nerve to engage in conversation. Instead, he leaves behind a note of admiration asking her to write. She does and Tony is filled with joy. His sister, Marie, who has devoted her life to her brother’s care, is filled with jealousy and uses every opportunity to remind Tony about his advancing age, less-than appealing looks and minimal education. Fear of rejection leads Tony to the rash decision to send Rosabella the photo of his handsome young foreman, Joe; a deception Rosabella only realizes upon her arrival in Napa — on her wedding day.
Further complicating matters, Tony has been seriously injured in an accident. With no other prospects, Rosabella exchanges vows with the broken-and-bloody groom lying on a makeshift stretcher on the ground. It takes all hands to move Tony into the house, leaving Rosabella alone in the yard with Joe. She fell for his photo and now falls into his arms, a hookup with far-reaching consequences.
Punctuating and propelling the story along are songs that range from operatic (“My Heart Is So Full of You”) to toe-tapping Broadway showtunes (“Standing on the Corner”) and choral numbers (“Abbondanza”) from songwriter Frank Loesser, the genius behind “Guys and Dolls” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
Scaled back from its original 1956 Broadway production that featured a cast of nearly 40 and a 36-piece orchestra, this intimate North Coast Rep production doesn’t stint on the music, songs and choreography. That said, this mid-century musical faces challenges being staged in the 21st century. Among them, a timeworn plot. Also, the fluid hybrid musical-theatrical-operatic format can, at first, be perplexing. Fear not. Under the superb direction of Jeffrey B. Moss, the rock-solid cast soars with commanding voices, dynamic duets and harmonies you’ll wish would never end.
Standouts performance by Gregory North (Tony), Lauren Weinberg (Rosabella), Chris Hunter (Joe) and Bethany Slomka (Marie) who deliver on every commanding note and every heartfelt emotion. Delightful comic relief by Shinah Hey (as Rosabella’s bestie Cleo) and Andrew Hey (Herman, love-struck ranch hand). Rounding out the cast are Jacob Caltrider, Tori Hitchcock, Morgan Hollingsworth, Eli Wood, Isabelle Pizzurro and Jason Maddy.
Musical accompaniment courtesy of pianists Justin Gray and musical director Elan McMahan seated at duo uprights on stage. Gray does extra duty, sprinting from behind the keyboard with a camera and flash pan when the story calls for a photographer or donning a clerical collar to perform the wedding, before energetically returning to his sheet music.
Facilitating scene changes from a San Francisco diner to a train platform to a rough-hewn barn and vineyard vistas is the magic of set designer Marty Burnett. Props designer Michael Wogulis makes wonderful use of vintage advertising signs — ESSO Gas, Santa Fe Railroad, Champion Spark Plugs, Studebaker Automobile Service — to capture the era. Choreography by Melissa Glasgow and Erica Kahn, light designer Matthew Novotny, costume design by Alina Bokovikova and Grace Wong, hair and wig designer Meg Woodley, mixer Meredith Lange and sound design by Tristan King.
Conveying location and the passage of time is the stylized work of projection designer Matt FitzGerald with information periodically conveyed on the side of the barn, not unlike the all-important title slides in silent movies.
by Lynne Friedmann
