Word: gwen
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...Gwen Davis...
...just one Tony Award, for Bob Fosse's explosive choreography, yet it ran 18 months on the strength of its likability and slickness. Those are still the show's virtues, and when coupled with a tireless effort by TV Star Debbie Allen (Fame) in the title role originated by Gwen Verdon, they seem to be enough for another long run. The opening won nearly unanimous praise, and by the weekend the box office had tallied a $1 million advance sale...
...Well, Gwen and Alma find a taker--the overripe harem head, Celia Lips (Ty Christopher Warren), who's constantly looking for new blood with which to tempt the timid Sultan Battery the Ever-Ready (Jon Tolins), who's got, well, women problems...
...Sultan appear. He's a neurotic misanthrope after Woody Allen's heart. Even the Sultan's charmingly innocent daughter, Dahlia Prayer (Steve Lyne), is too frightening for him. The dippy Dahlia dances in with a string of cutout paper dolls, ecstatic at the sight of Alma and Gwen, whom she's already pegged as playmates. Maybe they can even talk about boys, whom she's never seen. "Do they really have horrible steel buzz-saw blades in their pants, like Daddy told me?" she asks...
...actors that steal the show. Consistently well-developed as characters--from Alma and Gwen to Abby--they also create a first-rate ensemble. Given a head start with a richly diverse score by Davity Chase--who provides everything from Arab theme music to fight-song melodies to torchy jazz with consistent finesse--and staging and choreography that are energetic but simple but enough to handle (usually) with grace and flair they take the ball and run with...