The Fabulous Lipitones
By John Markus and Mark St. Germain
Directed by Monica Bliss
“I’m not afraid of those Sons of Pitches.”
“We could have been called ‘The Barbershop Apocalypse,’” one of the three surviving men in “The Fabulous Lipitones,” a barbershop quartet, explains to a prospective new member after the death of their lead singer. At the dead man’s funeral, they break into song and find themselves ejected by the widow, which only leads to their dejection at their plight. A phone call from a car mechanic gets them started again when one of his workmen can be heard over the phone singing. They audition the man, and find he is a foreigner —most likely Pakistani or West Indian — but over the objections of one of the men. the newcomer is hired. The quartet had just won the regionals and is on to the national finals in Reno, but not without a new lead singer.
Bob, or Baba Mati Das, is not an easy fit at first. To begin with, he despises the subject matter of the songs traditionally sung by the group. He finds these songs to be sexist, racist and objectionable in every way. His proposed song, a folk tale of a princess transformed through death into a rabbit, has less appeal for the trio. The play concerns itself with the meshing of human backgrounds, the combination of the foreign and the familiar. (They all agree on the fitness of a George M. Cohan medley.)
The play could have been called “Two Funerals and a Mash-up.” In this light-hearted comedy, there are two deaths, two funerals and a fair amount of middle-aged singing. Most of the tunes will be familiar to most audience members and the vocalizing in this production at the Whit, directed by Monica Bliss, works wonderfully, close harmonies and all.
This is a nonprofessional company and at least two of the actors had difficulty remembering their lines, which made for a very halting first act. Still, the audience responded with good-natured laughter in all the right places. The second act fared better with fewer flubs. The direction was adequate—not bad, but still missing many opportunities for character development through the physical manifestations of character.
Brian Litscher plays Howard Dunphy, a man with wife trouble and in whose basement the men meet to rehearse. Litscher displays a gentle manner of line delivery that is in good stead with his character, who is a gentle soul, devoted to his music and to his straying wife. Litscher presents a sweet picture of a man adapting to difficult situations with a form of grace.
Tony Gubelman plays Wally Smith, a druggist, single man and furtive wooer of women—once he accidentally sends out the Kama Sutra with its various “positions” to dozens of women he chats with online. Gubelman is genuinely funny in his earnestness and eagerness to find both a singer and a woman. His outcome online is not as great as it is in person.
Richard Wiley Jr. plays Phil Rizzardi, an antagonistic gym owner who hates the idea of continuing on as a quartet without their friend Andy Lipinsky. Being disagreeable works very well for Wiley and his character is an easy target for the high optimism that surrounds him
It is the Sikh addition to the group, Bob, played by Joseph Cardozo, who makes a difference in all of their lives, creating both hassle and harmony in their haste to hustle to the nationals. Cardozo is wonderfully funny in this role. His eye rolls, his finger gestures and his looks that make him so different from his fellows are perfect realizations of the cultural gulf between Bob and the others.
This is far from a perfect production, but its humor seeps through the awkward spots and its second act offers some genuinely delicious moments. As a production it is simple and workable on that nonprofessional level. Jeff Hunt has led the quartet through its musical placement and done a nice job, and the performance movements have been choreographed expertly by Ruslan Sprague.
I had a passing good time with this play. You might also. Just remember: Replacing the lead singer has its difficulties, just like the cast does.
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The Fabulous Lipitones plays at the Whitney Center for the Arts on Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, through Sunday, Aug. 19. For information and tickets, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, call (413) 443-0289 or go online to www.thewhit.org.
