Though it opened during the onslaught of Broadway and Off-Broadway openings this fall, Duet! A Romantic Fable didn't quite get lost in the shuffle.
A kitschy, stylized and romantic love story, Duet! is targeting Off Broadway's Cherry Lane Theatre. At first, the Adobe Theatre Company hoped to bring the show to that venue early March, but outside producers haven't signed on the dotted line yet. That's good news for the current tenant, Black Humor, which has extended its run to March 29 -- this coming after a previous extension to March 1. The show was initially supposed to run only to Feb. 15.
Said Adobe publicist and actress Kathryn Langwell, who has a small role in Duet!, "It'll be basically the same show that was at the Ohio Theatre [Oct. 15-Nov. 8] with no cast changes and a similar production." Expected to repeat their roles are leads Quinn Purcell and Gregory Jackson, alongside Frank Ensengberger, Derin Basden and Chris Klimkoski, Henry Caplan, Kathryn Langwell, Beau Ruland.
Set design will be by Stephen Capone (at the Ohio, the design was by Chris Muller), sound by Chris Todd; lighting by Alex Radocchia and costumes by Sarah Foran. Michael Garin wrote the original song used in the show.
Langwell describes Duet! as "a 1950s take on old movies and old values, a crazy fantasy land of the 1990s." Adobe's press release for the original run puts it this way: "The Bashful Crooner catches the eye of the Comely Girl Friday at the local Gin Joint, where He's trying to make it Big with only a tinny Piano and a swell set of Pipes. She's dreamy beyond the Heavens. He's absolutely everything a Girl could wish for. If only He didn't have a taste for...GULP!" The show combines elements of vaudeville, silent film, nostalgic kitsch and puppetry.
As if the Adobe Company weren't busy enough, they're also opening, Feb. 25-March 22, The Handless Maiden, at the Ohio Theatre. Written by artistic director Jeremy Dobrish, Maiden is based on the Grimm fairytale of that name and takes (says Langwell) "a dual perspective on characters looking for a happy ending. It's not a musical, but some music is being written for it, so it should be a lot of fun."
-- By David Lefkowitz
