Ida-Ho-Down celebrates opening of new musical at Smith Center
Downtown’s Symphony Park turned into an Ida-Ho-Down late Saturday to celebrate the first full production of “Idaho!”
Attendees, dressed in “country chic” attire, munched on potato chips and french fries served in paper cups.
The tater state salute included a 6-ton faux potato on an 18-wheel touring truck parked in front of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
In the middle of the park, Myron Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center, was surrounded by well-wishers, including some of the 100 Broadway producers, potential investors and theater presenters expected during the remainder of the run, which ends July 17.
This is the second time The Smith Center is producing an original show with the high hopes of hitting Broadway. Teller’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in 2014 was the first.
Buddy Sheffield, the writing force behind the hilarious show, teamed up with his old friend, Keith Thompson, co-composer and musical director. It was a reunion. They worked together years ago in Mississippi, their home state.
The show had Reynolds Hall howling. There are echoes of “Oklahoma,” “Carousel” and “Les Miserables,” mixed in with Mel Brooks-esque comedy.
The show represents a return to Sheffield’s roots.
“I started out in theater and then I got sidetracked and wrote television for about 25 years,” he said.
“This is like coming home for me, coming back to the theater. It’s the most fun I ever had. I wish I had done it years earlier. I wrote a lot of musicals that toured the country but never made it to Broadway.” There was one, years ago with Thompson, said Sheffield, that lasted for a short time. It was titled “Cleavage.”
Paul Beard, The Smith Center’s vice president and COO, described the show as “bawdy, beautifully bawdy.”
“The non-negotiable piece to this? It had to be funny. When we started working on this two years ago we knew that had to happen because if it’s not really funny, everything is lipstick on a pig,” Beard said.
With characters deliciously named Ida Dunham, Anita Polk, Amanda Ride and Yank Daley, it follows there’s a good time to be had in “Idaho.”
“Buddy specifically wanted those characters and those songs in the show,” said Thompson, “because what he said was, back in the ’40s all the sexual innuendo was subtext. So we were listening to ’em say ‘I’m just a girl who can’t say no, but I kiss the boy.’ What is she really saying? So Buddy made Ida just say it, and isn’t she fun?”
Is she ever.
Dunham, played by Alex Ellis, is a good timin’ girl who steals the show, along with castmate Jen Perry as lovable Aunt Pearlie. Carmen Ruby Floyd, delivers big laughs as Mavis White Eagle.
Female lead Jessica Fontana, who plays Cassie, the conflicted mail-order bride, was Laura Osnes’ understudy in Broadway’s “Cinderella.” Osnes was among the Broadway performers who helped christen The Smith Center’s opening on March 10, 2012.
“We’ve got lucky with Nate,” said Beard, referring to male lead Nathaniel Hackmann who plays Whip Masters. “He’s got a voice that rattles the rafters, a world class voice.”
Beard isn’t thinking about what possibly lies down the road.
“I never talk about that,” he said. “I don’t even want to even address the topic. We set it up to basically produce a great experience for the audiences here,” said Beard, “and then anything else is a byproduct.”
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Sheffield’s wife, Nina, made a fashion statement at the after-party. She was wearing a wrap made from the leftover fabric of the tornado that swept across the stage in the twister scene.
Las Vegan Annee Nounna is back from France after attending the 88th birthday of French entertainment icon Line Renaud. The celebration included a Celine Dion concert in the Paris suburb of Bercy. As Nounna and Renaud entered the venue, a chant began building, “Line, Line, Line,” accompanied with applause. A startled Renaud, who has hearing problems, turned to Nounna and said, “For me?”
SIGHTINGS
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, at XS nightclub (Wynn) on Sunday, celebrating the birthday of WWE pro wrestling star Mojo Rawley. … The NBA’s Dwight Howard, wearing an Atlanta Hawks jersey, at The Orleans with his kids on Sunday. … Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III, at Light (Mandalay Bay) on Friday.
THE PUNCH LINE
“A bunch of grapes sold in Japan for over $10,000. In other words, they’ve opened a Whole Foods in Japan.” — Conan O’Brien
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. On Twitter: @Norm_Clarke
