Harold Arlen is not as well-known as composers like Gershwin or Berlin, but his musical compositions are iconic. He wrote “Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” “I’ve Got the World on a String” and many others.
The All Roads Theatre Company has assembled an epic musical based on Harold Arlen’s compositions with lyrics by Ted Koehler, Johnny Mercer, E.Y Harburg, and Ira Gershwin. It is set in a glitzy nightclub called “Dreamland” haunted by ghosts from its post-WWII past.
The show is outstandingly directed and choreographed by Scott Thompson.
Broadway performers Lana Gordon and Luba Mason star along with an extraordinarily talented cast who sing and dance their hearts out.
Gordon plays Panama Jones, an African American impresario who runs the nightclub with her philandering and mob-connected boyfriend Duke Sullivan, played by Phil Pritchard. She returns from the dead to tell the tale of the cast of characters who worked at the club and their fraught relationships.
Gordon slays as she belts her songs and appears in multiple glitzy gowns. Costume designer Shon LeBlanc brings out the sparkle in all the performers.
Mason plays Tess Fleming, a former nightclub performer who inherits a fortune and becomes a socialite. She is in love with a much younger and handsome singer, Rick Anderson, played by C.J. Eldred, and uses her clout to get him hired as a headliner at the club. Mason has a sultry voice and at times gives off Mae West vibes.
Jess Val Ortiz plays young singer Kitty McVey, who will do anything to get hired, including sleeping with her smarmy boss Duke. Her boyfriend and song and dance partner Eddie Parsons, played by Sean McGibbon, tries in vain to hold on to her. McGibbon is a remarkable tap dancer who does a Donald O’Conner-esque routine on the bar.
Amber James plays Jackie James, another talented African American nightclub singer whose boyfriend, Keith Nelson, played by Harris Matthew, has a gambling problem he can’t control.
The show is women-driven. All four main cast members, (Gordon, Mason, Ortiz, and James) bring down the house singing a combined performance of “Stormy Weather.”
Standout roles include Lianne Marie Dobbs as Fleming’s socialite friend Meredith who steals Rick away from Tess to save their friendship and Natalie Holt MacDonald as completely adorable Ethel the Cigarette Girl,
The dancers were highly skilled and perform intricate and athletic moves in perfect sync. The choreography grasps the spirit of a 1940s nightclub on overdrive.
One For My Baby is being workshopped for a Broadway run and the production has all the hallmarks of an award-winning show. My only complaint is the 160-minute running time. Though the show is thoroughly enjoyable, some audience members were fidgety and a few left early. It may be better served if it were tightened up a bit.
The production runs March 14 – 23, 2025 for nine performances. Despite its length, it is a show you don’t want to miss.
Tickets are available online at www.elportaltheatre.com
El Portal Theatre
Debbie Reynold’s Mainstage
5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601
The El Portal was built in 1926 and is a perfect venue for this musical.
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