It may be hot outside, but it's more than cool at the Waterfront Playhouse. The current Key West Players production, Deal & Evans' Nite Club Confidential opened Thursday night.
Dropping the dramatic temperatures at the Waterfront way down, the stage has been transformed to exude the swanky, shadowy, Venetian-blind style of coolness associated with film noir.
Director and set designer Matt Crowder has recreated the late-night lounge world of the Eisenhower era. Sets suggest New York City's Cafe High Society and the Jazz Clef to the Silver Rocket Lounge, Atlantic City's Steel Pier, and smoky spots in Hollywood and Paris. Welcome to the after-hours world of Kay Goodman (played by Allison Mayer) and the High Hopes (Jake Ronin, Dean Lodes, Mario Lot). A struggling singing group and a fading chanteuse, who becomes tangled in a web of deceit and murder— but remain fashionably decked out in white tuxedos and sequined gowns.
Campy-esque and fun aside, Nite Club Confidential emphasizes its music. Working with musical director Hank Kenley, Ft. Lauderdale pianist Larry Host and Miami-based choreographer Kathy Kurtz, the cast and musicians (West Palm's Greg Kukos on bass and Key West's Richie Ciavolino on drums) have studied the style. As far as the music and the performance manner go, the Waterfront production is based on authenticity. It's a tribute— not an imitation.
The revue pays homage to a highly stylized breed of professional lounge and supperclub entertainer. Nite Club Confidential features the musical forms and styles of the '50s, including pop, jazz, musical comedy, early rock-and-roll, and nightclub material.
Incidentally, singer/actor Allison Mayer (who plays the chanteuse) and Penny Jampol (portraying the conniving ingenue) have many years of experience appearing as the Fabulous Spectrelles, their own retro, night-club act. Recently, Mario Lot (a High Hope) began appearing with the Spectrelles.
Writers Deal & Evans incorporated some two dozen songs into NIte Club Confidential.
In juxtaposition to the musical presentation, the Nite Club Confidential storyline teeters between spoof and pastiche. But Crowder hopes the audience will leave this production with an empathy for the characters— in addition to being thoroughly entertained.
Nite Club Confidential runs through June 3 at the Waterfront Playhouse, located on Mallory square. Tickets are $20 and $25; curtain is 8 p.m. For information or tickets, call the box office at 294-5015, or visit www.ticketweb.com.