Review: 'Meet Me in St. Louis' is a delightful take on a nostalgic classic

Theater review |

'Tis the season to get schmaltzy — or grinchy.

But Village Theatre's "Meet Me in St. Louis" breezes over the saccharine pitfalls of its material. With its attractive singing and dancing, and its other blithe charms, it is the Village at its considerable best.

The charmer-in-chief is local native Ryah Nixon, whose luscious voice and vivacious bonhomie make her a delightful Esther.

Esther, you may recall, is part of the raucous, close-knit Smith family of St. Louis, who eagerly anticipate the 1904 World's Fair in their city. And dewy Judy Garland (who starred in the 1944 MGM film of the same title) is forever identified with the role.

But Nixon makes her own mark. With a gorgeous voice that could reach a third balcony, she is a marvelous interpreter of the familiar Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane score — from the waltz-time "The Boy Next Door" to the touching "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." And her warmth and good humor never flag.

She's in fine company with such able singer-actors as Frances Leah King (as the mother of the Smith brood), Bobbi Kotula (as the family's feisty Irish maid) and Bryan Tramontana (as older sis Rose).

The cast also boasts two adept, live-wire child actors, as little sisters Tootie (Annaliese Emerson Guettinger) and Agnes (Katie Griffith). And John Patrick Lowrie does what he can in the stock part of the grouchy Smith dad.

Hugh Wheeler's book for the musical, based on Sally Benson's nostalgic stories, is family-friendly in its handling of first love, sibling rivalry, harmless pranks and hometown pride.

And the terrific dance numbers director-choreographer Steve Tomkins conjures make the show much livelier than the pokey "Meet Me in St. Louis" production that toured here in 1992 after a brief Broadway run.

With a large cast at his command, Tomkins fills the stage with the folksy dance numbers "Skip to My Lou" and "The Banjo" (featuring terrific tapper John David Scott).

And "The Trolley Song" is a blast, with dancers hanging around and off a streetcar-with-the-fringe-on-top.

Steven Capone's deluxe sets include an elaborate St. Louis parlor with gleaming wood paneling, ornate furniture, a family spinet and gas lighting. Cynthia Savage's period costumes are attractive, also (love that scarlet ball gown of Esther's). And the enriched Village orchestra, under Tim Symons' baton, sounds great.

The cast's one weak link is Jason Kappus as Esther's crush, John. Kappus lacks dynamism, and his wan singing contrasts poorly with that of his castmates — especially Nixon's. Now based in New York, she's Broadway-ready in every way.