Flora The Red Menace

Flora, the Red Menace: Lawson Taitte review for Dallas Morning News

Lyric Stage shows off forgotten gem

Every so often, Lyric Stage digs up a show that even the most fervent fan of musical theater is unlikely to have seen – and it’s so good you wonder why it’s not a standard. Flora, the Red Menace is one of the most exciting.

It helps, of course, that the strong production the company opened on Saturday stars Kristin Dausch, a Dallas favorite since she appeared in Lyric’s Funny Girl. She sings like an angel. Or like that celestial trumpet that archangel Gabriel blows.

The first collaboration between John Kander and Fred Ebb, who went on to write Cabaret and Chicago, it introduced a 19-year-old Liza Minnelli to Broadway and won her a Tony Award. An off-Broadway revival cut the cast down to nine performers.

The title character graduates from high school in the first scene, then goes out to look for a job during the height of the Depression. Flora, the Red Menace definitely sports a social conscience. A revival in the current era of high unemployment makes as much sense as taking a new look at Chicago did right after the O.J. Simpson trial.

Flora spontaneously organizes a group of friends as an artists’ cooperative. She recruits a good-looking painter, Harry (Keith J. Warren), who in turn recruits her into the Communist party. The leader of the cell, Charlotte (Danielle Estes), is even more aggressive in her romantic pursuit of Harry than Flora is. Eventually, political differences make for a bittersweet ending to the love story – which may be one reason the show has never caught on.

Director-choreographer Ann Nieman and musical director Scott A. Eckert share credit for a gorgeously sung and sympathetically acted interpretation, all the way around. Every word of the unfamiliar lyrics proves immediately intelligible, too.

Dausch sets the standard. Judging from the original cast recording, she sings the role with as much power and much more finesse than Minnelli did. A natural comedienne, she can be goofy or sincere at will. She still lacks physical grace on stage – and a star in the making should insist on more flattering dresses, even when the costume is supposed to be unflattering.

Warren and Estes are fresh faces with enormous potential. So is Calvin Roberts as Willy, the friendly clarinet player. Thomas Christopher Renner and Katherine Gentsch hoof it charmingly as the aspiring dance team.”

Flora, the Red Menace: Kris Noteboom review for TheaterJones

Join the Party!

At Lyric Stage, Flora the Red Menace makes love and Communism fun.Oh, the things people do for love.

Support hobbies they have no interest in. Care for a significant other when they’re sick. Join the Communist party.

Wait! What? Sure, changing political affiliations, especially to communism, might seem absurdly extreme in the matters of love, but that’s just what one woman does in Irving Lyric Stage’s rambunctiously fun production of Flora the Red Menace.

Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Flora (Kristin Dausch) is introduced, innocently enough, as a fashion illustrator in search of a job. While on the hunt, she meets Harry (Keith J. Warren) and is instantly smitten.

As the two become better acquainted, Harry informs Flora he is a member of the Communist Party and would like her to join. Uneasy about the proposal, she hems and haws until Harry cements his feelings for her, prompting her to sign up.

However, before Flora can attend her first meeting, she’s hired by a department store to work as an illustrator. She arrives at the party meeting and tells Harry the news, which only ends up prompting him and the other members to urge Flora to covertly drum up interest for a union.

Charlotte (Danielle Estes), the group’s matriarch and fellow admirer of Harry, seeks to undercut Flora’s burgeoning momentum with the group and Harry by instead advocating a rally outside the department store.

Naturally, events and feelings come to a head as Flora haphazardly attempts to balance her love for Harry and being a communist with the good fortune of having a job in the terrible economy and helping out her friends, a collective of artists she shares studio space with.

And pleasantly, though the ending is undoubtedly a happy one, it takes a different route than one might expect, highlighting the personal growth of its lead character.

Staged as a presentation by the Federal Theatre Project, an actual branch of the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration, Flora is a brilliantly conceived comedy that takes a look at the Great Depression from an angle rarely examined through the lens of a dual-layered performance.

Belying the discouraging moniker with which that time in America’s history is saddled, David Thompson (book), John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics) create a cast of uniquely self-aware characters who often exude a positive, almost tongue-in-cheek quality, reinforcing the meta nature of the show-within-a-show and themselves as employees of the WPA in the 1930s acting for a depression-era audience.

Joining Dausch, Warren and Estes is a versatile ensemble comprised of Calvin Roberts, Jeff McGee, Jaclyn Stapp, Katharine Gentsch, Thomas Christopher Renner and K. Doug Miller. Each plays numerous roles and do so with amusing aplomb, keeping in mind their performances should be somewhat transparent, given the layering of the roles.

Warren is endearing as the stammering Harry, and the passion with which he believes in his cause is admirable, if not misdirected. The fact that Warren can elicit any sympathy at all from the audience is a tribute to the depth he instills in his character.

Perhaps even a greater accomplishment is how Estes is able to make the ravenous Charlotte somewhat likeable. Playing her as a passionate woman rather than a villain proves a cunning choice by Estes that lends depth to an otherwise one-dimensional antagonist. Under Estes’ careful guidance, Charlotte becomes human. A violently passionate human, but human nonetheless.

And as the cherry on top of this delicious sundae, Dausch makes joining the Communist Party over a boy not only plausible, but acceptable. Charlotte and Flora are really two sides of the same coin. The passion and vigor with which both women pursue their goal is only differentiated by their dispositions. Dausch, as a result of her sunny disposition and formidable pluck, had the audience rooting for her. Even if that meant becoming a communist. And considering this country’s stance towards that particular political philosophy, the effectiveness of her performance is no small feat.

Scenic designer Jane Quetin’s set is simple and functional, a smart reinforcement of the depression era setting of the production. And director/choreographer Ann Nieman’s choice to make scene, and some costume, changes visible to the audience, carried out by the actors themselves, deftly communicates the show-within-a-show aspect, and strikes a crucial balance allowing the story to have maximum effect.

And that effect is telling a very human story. For in the end, Flora learns that true love isn’t always about one person. Sometimes, it’s been right in front of us the whole time.

And you don’t even have to join the Communist Party to find it.

Flora, the Red Menace: Laura L. Watson review for John Garcia’s THE COLUMN

A show with enough love to be a Valentine’s date

Lyric Stage’s production of Flora the Red Menace is a show with enough love to be a Valentine’s date, and good music, comedy, hopes and dreams for everybody else. It’s the epitome of musical theatre, and yet, for a nice change, no one was singing along behind me.

Flora the Red Menace follows headstrong wannabe fashion illustrator Flora Mezaros, a member of an artists’ co-operative of bohemian types struggling to find work during the Depression. Hoping to find a job paying at least $15 a week, she is hired by a large department store for $30. Flora falls in love with Harry Toukarian, another struggling artist, who attempts to convert her to his Communist ideals. Even though it compromises her job at the department store, Flora seeks to hold down both job and relationship (taken from Lyric Stage’s website). It’s the age old problem – happiness vs. doing the right thing. It is based on the novel `Love is Just Around the Corner’ by Lester Atwell that was originally adapted by George Abbott. The book is by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

Irving Art Center’s Dupree Theatre is a large proscenium theatre that Jane Quetin’s set design transforms into various locations in New York, mainly the co-op the artists live in and the department store. Making use of large white arches that have street lamp posts on one side and are plain on the other, desks (which are rolled in and out), the set changes are quick and often to the music. It’s a realistic yet minimalistic set design, and it works very well. The costumes by David Blades are appropriate to 1935, well fit, and give us a glimpse into who the characters are. The spot on hairstyles (or wigs?) of each actor finish off these costumes with perfection. Lighting designer Julie N. Moroney utilizes lights to create mood and draw our attention to the real happenings of a scene (and hide various set transformations as needed).

Sound design by Bill Eickenloff was truly key, and it blended the miced actors perfectly with the live band that was placed upstage left (audience right) behind all the action. There were also some very nice sound effects added, such as the elevator ding. I did, however, crave a little music for intermission.

Director Ann Nieman, who also doubles as the choreographer, has assembled a fine cast of excellent singers. The dance numbers are on the slightly simplistic side, but they still entertain and keep the story moving. It was nice to finally see Kenny and Maggie dance together in an all out number that included both ballroom and tap dancing. The actors rarely stand still and the fast-paced blocking mixed with intricate set changes helps keep the energy of the show up. The scene in the elevator showcases each actor’s physical acting capability. They all make mime and unified timing for starts and stops look easy. The use of a cyc screen for the protest scene made 2 or 3 actors look like a lot more. Scott A. Eckert is the music director, and since more of the show is sung than spoken, he carries the weight of this production. Luckily, he has a great band and on-pitch singers to delegate this responsibility to, and they most definitely pull their fair share.

The storyline itself is a little predictable, but it has many heartwarming moments. From Flora and Harry’s innocent yet comical love that warms your heart here at Valentine’s Day to the song “All I Need is One Good Break” that has every artist in the audience nodding their head and saying, “ME TOO!,” it holds that magic of musical theatre. It’s not a complicated story, and it seemed to end rather abruptly.

I know, personally, I needed a more “happily ever after” ending, but perhaps there was some sort of message about the consequences of associating with evil Communists that resonated with the original audiences back in 1965 that somehow passed by me. The final song was very sad, then slightly hopeful, and then, it was suddenly over. I guess I wanted one more song. No doubt these singers would have done well in that number, too.

The story calls for 9 actors to play over 25 roles, and not a beat was missed in the creation of all these roles. Kristin Dausch returns to Lyric Stage in the title role of Flora. She is quirky, charming and allows her voice to bellow and sore with ease. In previous reviews for other roles, she has been compared to a young Barbara Streisand, and I think these comparisons are spot on and a compliment to Dausch’s talent. Yet, she brings her own sass and spunk to this role, too. She isn’t without her softer moments, such as in the song Quiet Thing.

Playing her love interest is Keith J. Warren as Harry. With a beautiful tenor voice and earnest puppy eyed love/communistic ideals, he seems to be the calm to her passion. Harry has a strong stammer and also works as an artist, painting murals in the subways. Warren handles the stammering well and seems to truly believe in the Communist party almost to the point of convincing the audience it’s the right choice, too. He doesn’t have your typical leading man physique, but in a way, this makes him endearing to the audience.

As the story progresses and Harry is pursued by Comrade Charlotte, played by Danielle Estes, one must wonder why all these women are so hot for a poor stammering artist who is a loud and proud Red. That’s where one must let “musical magic” take over. Estes has a very sultry voice and uses it well to convey her many meanings, though she could have been even more seductive towards Harry with her body. Calvin Roberts plays Willy, a clarinet player and other characters as needed, including at times the narrator. He has a beautiful speaking voice and a way of engaging the audience with even just a few words.

Mr. Weiss, the older jeweler of the group, is played by Jeff McGee and, like the others, plays many other characters as well. He makes the best use of various New York accents along with different physical manifestations of each character. Mr. Stanley is the staunch, strict department store boss of Flora, and K. Doug Miller brings all of this and more to the stage. Like the others, his acting muscles are flexed, allowing him to create one character after another.

Elsa is the fashion designer and is well played by Jaclyn Stapp. Maggie is the dancer, along with her love Kenny, and they are brought to life with innocence and spunk by Katharine Gentsch and Thomas Christopher Renner.

Lyric Stage’s Flora the Red Menace is a lesser known musical that follows the formula of a traditional American Musical. If you like this formula, you’ll love this show. If not, you’ll probably still find moments that reach out and touch you.