‘Light Up the Sky’ leads to hope for full season of Jewish theater

The best news about "Light Up the Sky," now at the Adelson Educational Campus, is that it proves the Jewish Repertory Theatre could easily become a major player on the local arts scene.

The 1940s Moss Hart comedy about a creative group getting ready for a play's out-of-town tryout is cast entirely with Equity (union) actors. You can quibble with this or that, but we rarely see such fine work across the board.

Director Christopher Hart (Moss' son) gives us a strong unity of vision.

He begins alarmingly over-the-top, but once things calm down, there's much to enjoy.

Catherine Hicks as Irene Livingston paints a portrait of the actress as an emotional, self-absorbed, sensual creature. It's easy to believe that Hicks has spent a lifetime seducing audiences.

Jim Jansen, as her down-to-earth husband, really seems the sort of guy who spends his time lovingly catering to the practical sides of Irene's life.

Ben Bowen, as the idealistic first-time playwright, exhibits a masculine authority combined with a child's sense of wonder. He provides a needed contrast to Tim Halligan, as an experienced writer who tries to encourage the rookie.

Michael Laskin, as a cynical producer, combines Alexander Woollcott, Orson Welles and David Merrick into such a blustering bit of showmanship that it's difficult to imagine Laskin as anything but a genuine wheeler-dealer.

Ferrell Marshall comes across as a shy but devoted ghostwriter, and Lou Wagner is hilarious as a star-struck Shriner.

Particularly noteworthy is Mary Gregory as the actress' elderly mother, a deadpanning, wise-to-the-world time-bomb of bluntness. The way she mutters insults under her breath makes insults seem irresistible.

The clothes, by Shon LeBlanc and The Costume House, smell of show-biz chic.

The director occasionally doesn't properly build bits. Charles Dennis, as an ever-weeping director, is played so burlesquely, I found him annoying, despite his considerable dramatic authority. And Norma Morrow, as the producer's wife, is all memorized lines and plastic expressions.

How lucky it would be for Vegas, though, if this theater troupe were soon able to present a full season of productions. "Light Up the Sky" hints that the producers know what they're doing, and have the courage to do it.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat @aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.