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Corruption And Greed Take The Stage In 'Sweet Smell of Success'

By Melody Udell in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 21, 2014 8:45PM

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Kokandy Productions' Sweet Smell of Success.

Sweet Smell of Success comes with a little baggage—as anyone who takes on this challenging musical will surely tell you. After a brief Chicago tryout, the show had a disappointing Broadway shelf life, lasting just more than 100 performances despite starring John Lithgow and Brian d’Arcy James. But the version currently being staged by Kokandy Productions over at Theater Wit comes pretty close to curing—or at the very least hiding—some of the show’s plight, most notably its belabored second act.

Perhaps the show works better on a smaller stage, where the jazzy, smoke-filled aura of 1950s Manhattan can permeate the audience. Or maybe the cast—complete with a hard-working ensemble and a couple stand-out leads—is just the right fit. Whatever it is, Kokandy’s version brings the right feel to a show that’s almost swallowed up in themes of greed, ambition and desire.

David Schlumpf embodies those qualities as the grubby press agent Sidney Falco. His Sidney doesn’t just reek of desperation—he defines it. Sidney spends his days and nights trying to get his clients’ names in one of the top gossip columns, which would surely boost business and ensure Sidney stays employed. But his ambitions are bigger than just begging for an inch in the day’s column—Sidney wants to run the day’s column. More specifically, he wants to be the next J.J. Hunsecker (played with greasy zeal by Brian Rooney), the most notorious and successful gossip columnist in New York.

By chance, Sidney meets J.J.’s much younger sister, Susan (Victoria Blade), who’s attempting to make it on her own as an actress without any PR help from her brother. As a favor to Susan, J.J. takes Sidney under his wing, and Sidney is soon caught up in the martini-swilling, after-hours nightlife of the cities’ hottest clubs. It’s here where Sidney delivers the show’s best power ballad—“At the Fountain”—which lays all of his ambitions on the line and shows us Schlumpf’s Broadway-caliber singing chops. But Sidney’s new gig and lifestyle come at a hefty price, and Sidney is willing to pay it. Soon, he’s caught up in a scheme to maintain his new position, which threatens to tear apart Susan’s secret relationship with a budding jazz musician, Dallas (Nathan Gardner).

J.J., who doesn’t blink when dragging a young actor’s name through the mud in his column and maintains corrupt friendships with the NYPD, has only one weakness: Susan. He loves his sister almost as if she were his child, but it’s this relationship that poses much of the problem in the second act. Susan’s s inability to stand up to her brother goes largely unexplained—and it inspires much more frustration than it does sympathy. And with all the betrayal going on in the second act—brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends—the plot starts to muddy.

It doesn’t help things much that the ensemble, which plays a sinister chorus of sorts, occasionally takes over the stage. At their best, the ensemble members are reminiscent of the leering, jazz-age cast of Chicago—especially during their salacious rendition of “Dirt”—although their sheer number overwhelms such a small stage. But if that’s the biggest complaint in a show that’s known to be problematic, this version of Sweet Smell of Success is, well, a success.

The show runs through Sunday, Feb. 2 at Theater Wit, 1229 Belmont, 773-975-8150 or online.