MAME at the 5th Avenue Theatre

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Dee Hoty with Michael Winters and Karen Skrinde in Mame at the 5th Ave Theatre.png


Opening night, it's opening night!

I was lucky enough to go to the opening night of MAME at the 5th Avenue Theatre on February 14. Pre-show Valentines Day/Opening Night dinner at the Fairmont Hotel was Dee-licious (get it? Dee Hoty is playing MAME??).

Then off to the theatre for a truly wonderful show. MAME is adapted from the book "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.

The story, adapted from the autobiographical novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis , follows the relationship between the orphaned Patrick Dennis (Nick Robinson) and his freewheeling socialite aunt Mame (Dee Hoty). The show is chock full of plot - not only do we see Mame and Patrick's wild and crazy antics when he is a boy, but in the second act Patrick grows up and becomes engaged to an insufferable Connecticut snob. Oh, and did I mention Mame gets married to a southerner (Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside played by the fabola Richard White) who falls off an Alp at the beginning of the second act. I love this show!

This fabulous, lavish production, playing until March 2 at the 5th Avenue theatre, has direction and musical staging by David Armstrong, choreography by Dannul Dailey and music direction by David Holcenberg.

What a cast! Dee Hoty is diva-licious as Mame, and the sets, costumes and voices in this production are to die for (hopefully, not by falling off an Alp…). It's so great when a large cast is full of actors who have real chops, and make every line count (Sean G. Griffin as Babcock, Taryn Darr as Gloria Upson, and Karen Skrinde as Sally Cato, just to name a few!)

My two favorite standouts were Kat Ramsburg as Agnes Hooch and Carol Swarbrick as Vera Charles. They are both hilarious scene stealers, and have amazing, engaging voices that fill the theatre.

I think I'll go have another mint julep and put up some Christmas lights!


By Suzy Conn on February 16, 2008 7:27 PM | | Comments (0)


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