Stage: Saturday Night Fever

Mild Fever

By Barbara Scherzer

As a bona fide Broadway musical fan, I eagerly awaited the next show to find a home on the Strip: Saturday Night Fever. Based on the 1977 movie musical that firmly entrenched disco dancing into the pop culture, it also made actor/dancer John Travolta a household name. But the stage version of the musical, which opened here last week, could use a hefty infusion of heat.

Tony Manero is a young man growing up in an Italian family in Brooklyn. He finds solace within the neighborhood disco club where he plies his one passion: dancing. Tony is friends with Annette, a young woman who would like nothing better than to "make it" with Tony. Relationships begin to shift when Manero meets Stephanie Mangano, a feisty but talented dancer who has a few lofty dreams of her own.

The principal shortcoming is the lead character. As written, Manero is a riveting presence on the dance floor. As played by the largely inexperienced Tony Gonzalez, this fails to happen. Although he can move, all of the other male dancers onstage are more supple and more visually exciting to watch. Further, his singing voice and his onstage personality are a little too weak to carry the lead.

His lack of sensuality is most palpable when in the secondary role of the DJ Monty, Shea Rafferty is onstage with Gonzalez. Rafferty exudes charisma, joy and dance ability that easily outshines that of the show's star. Rafferty alone received a spontaneous round of applause when he left the stage. A good move for the show's producers might be to have these two actors switch roles.

Clarissa Grace is heartfelt in her performance as Annette. Her big Broadway voice is heard to good effect in the numbers "If I Can't Have You" and "More Than A Woman." Also good is Kristin Piro as Mangano, a talented actress who really struts her stuff in the dance numbers. In the small but pivotal role of Bobby, Brandon Nix is affecting also.

Featuring Broadway sets and costumes, Saturday Night Fever looks great. The performers sing to pre-recorded tracks of the singable Bee Gees score but the caliber of the cast's voices varies all over the map. It is disappointing that this show is truncated from its full Broadway version. Director Arlene Phillips needs to ramp up the heat factor of the lead character before this show can really break a sweat.