"POSEIDON! AN UPSIDE DOWN MUSICAL," Hell In A Handbag Productions at Theatre Building Chicago
BY LUCIA MAURO
The moment Shelley Winters’ Belle Rosen – that lovably hefty champion of the Women’s Swimming Association – belly-flopped into the watery bowels of the doomed S.S. Poseidon, "The Poseidon Adventure" was christened a camp phenomenon. And the multitudes of diehard "Poseidonites" would spin around in their panties to finally be treated to a musical spoof/celebration of this cult 1970s disaster film that featured Gene Hackman as the black- turtle-neck-clad renegade Reverend Scott and Stella Stevens as ex-prostitute Linda Rogo prancing around in silver-strap platform shoes and a man’s white button-down shirt.
David Cerda is making all those naughty nautical fantasies come true in 3-D form with his latest musical, "Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical," staged by Hell In A Handbag Productions at Theatre Building Chicago. Since most Poseidon fans would break into hysterics just hearing Tracy Repep’s on-the-mark Linda Rogo beckon her husband to "come here, ya lousy cop," there is no great need for wildly creative humor. The material is inherently funny. But Cerda manages to add to the built-in outlandishness. And two musical numbers (with music co-composed by Cerda and Scott Lamberty) -- "Just Panties (What Else Do I Need)?" and "In the Water, I’m a Very Skinny Lady" – boast clever show-stopping appeal.
Even the conceit of framing the movie within a New Year’s Eve party for Poseidonites is smart. But this musical – unevenly directed by David Zak – still has its labored and creaky moments. Of course, many Irwin Allen fanatics would flog me with Susan Shelby’s nifty rip-away skirt for getting all nit-picky about a surefire hit.
Nevertheless, Cerda’s musical – which certainly has its impassioned heart in the right place – is not wholly charming in its low-budget, unpolished way. It needs to undergo some major tightening. And revisions to the clunky book would allow the show to sail along at a swift keel – despite the fact that it is about the sinking of an ocean liner during a New Year’s Eve cruise.
While it sounds like "Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical" is mainly a campy parody of the classic film, the work is much more ambitious than that. And it’s because Cerda has selected so many intersecting themes that the show gets bogged down in more than rapidly rising H2O. As I mentioned before, the New Year’s Eve party framing device works well. It promotes pungent outsider commentary and inspires one of the musical’s most outrageous moments – a live fast-forward sequence.
On the flip side, it fails to serve as an invigorating through-line. Between the flashy musical routines and hilariously goofy segments – from the raucous climbing of the cardboard Christmas tree to a bit about air pockets ("It’s either up or drown") to Steve Hickson deadpanning into a bullhorn, "There’s a big-ass tidal wave headed your way" – Cerda inserts rather long-winded and over-literal commentary on individuals’ obsession with "The Poseidon Adventure." Just hearing stories about reunions on the Queen Mary and the countless Poseidon fantasies that have sustained people in their darkest days, one would think Ernest Borgnine and company have surpassed Elvis and Marilyn in the pop-culture pantheon.
These personal accounts and metaphoric tidbits (like the characters representing the Seven Deadly Sins) ultimately detract from the central story. The fact that Cerda has posited the movie against a "Poseidon" dress-up party quite succinctly conveys our eternal fixation with pop culture. Plus the celebratory nature of his premise is directly mirrored in the festive gathering. The various stories shared by cast members inject the musical with an unwieldy, retrofitted fervor.
A related subplot involves big-time Poseidonite Cerda (swirling about as party host Anthony and the "Too-Tanned Lady" in a hot-pink palazzo pant suit) and his reluctant boyfriend Brian (a droll Steve Hickson) trying to come to terms with the hysterical joy scores of people glean from this seafaring tragicomedy packed with Hollywood stars on a voyage to has-been status. Some judicious nips and tucks in the script could make this musical a truly dizzying delight through the portholes of blissfully hokey cinematic history.
Regardless of the flaws, the production features a smashing performance by Tracy Repep as the sultry and self-interested Linda Rogo and an earnest and loving drag turn by Steve Kimbrough as the inimitable Belle Rosen. Other standouts include Jennifer Connelly’s psychotically assured Reverend Scott; R. Kelly as the beefy Mike Rogo; and Ed Jones as hysterics-prone airhead Nonnie Perry. Two of the show’s most memorable moments: The slacker band crooning tunes, like "Upside Down You Turn Me" and "Rock the Boat," during the New Year’s Eve dinner; and, after the ship capsizes, Belle Rosen rising to reveal a flattened cardboard replica of a fellow passenger.
Those subtly brilliant details speak louder than all the ramblings about "Poseidon" lore and obsession.•
Hell In A Handbag Productions’ world premiere of "Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical" runs through January 11 at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. Tickets: $20. A special New Year’s Eve performance includes a post-show party for $35. Call 773-327-5252 or log onto www.handbagproductions.org.
