The Honeymooners

By Joseph Cervelli

Fans (myself included) of the classic 50’s television show “The Honeymooners” may find themselves with a smile on their faces, well, at least, for the first half or so of the new musical premiering at Paper Mill Playhouse. While Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss have provided a fairly pleasant first act book, the mediocre second act easily turn that smile to a frown. 

The good news is that the always reliable set designer Beowulf Boritt has recreated the Kramden’s drab Brooklyn apartment as it was first scene in the television series and has provided some nifty additional sets along with on target costumes by Jess Goldstein. 

Michael McGrath who makes a perfect Kramden not only looks and is built (probably, with a fat suit) like Jackie Gleason who personified the lovable blowhard bus driver but has Gleason’s many movements down pat. Notice the way he even wipes his forehead after he makes verbal blunders never thinking before speaking. 

It is a pleasure having the immensely talented Leslie Kritzer back on stage here channeling Ralph’s always sensible wife, Alice. It is a treat that composers Stephen Weiner (music) and Peter Mills (lyrics) give her a knockout jazz number “A Woman’s Work” which stops the show in the second act. The overall music is genial enough and the lyrics even better. Although the rather dumb “Love Goes Down the Drain” and “The Raccoon Hymn”  go nowhere. 

Michael Mastro is quite good as the goofy sewer worker, Ed Norton, who is both neighbor and best pal to Ralph who always has some new foolish idea to make it big. In a funny twist, it is Norton who comes up with ideas, such as, a device to record tv shows and a phone you can take with you anywhere. All ideas torpedoed by the not so smart Ralph.  

Here Kramden who is hoping for a promotion which he never gets  decides to enter a jingle contest for Faciamatta Mazzeroni  cheese named after its founder played by an always humorous Lewis J. Stadlen.  The intuitive Alice helps Ralph with the words to the jingle and the two men not only win the contest but are offered jobs by the ad agency who sponsored the contest. . The two advertising gents  seem like they came directly from “How To Succeed In Business.....” especially Lewis Cleale who seems to be doing an over the top impression of Charles Nelson Reilly who originated the role in that 60’s musical. While the show is well staged by the gifted choreographer Joshua Bergasse, the dancing on the office tables doing a Tarantella and then Ralph  Irish jig is unnecessarily silly. 

There is a subplot which feels more like a filler than anything else. Trixie (a shrill sounding Laura Bell Bundy) is no longer just a housewife married to Ed, but a singer. She actually was a burlesque star who met (in an unneeded flashback) her future husband outside the theater she had been performing. She auditions for a new show and has a number with the lecherous Francois (Kevin Worley) who is both her ex-boss and one time boyfriend. There is a dreadful second act production number headlined by Trixie which showing a Nativity scene which is a promo for the the popular Faoiamatta cheese. And by the end of the show there is a surprise little twist which is little more than a gimmick.

The pleasures besides the three leads are moments plucked from the original show. The famous Kramden sayings, “King of the castle,” “I have a Big Mouth,” etc. and the memorable scenes that include Ed teaching Ralph how to hit a golf ball and “Captain Video.” If you don’t know what I am speaking of you are most definitely not the target audience for the this show. And that leads to a bigger problem if the show, as intended, does arrive on Broadway. If  you are not of a certain age much of this is will leave you cold.   

While director John Rando keeps the show moving at a jaunty speed, the entire production feels like the generally inferior musical variety show Gleason included a new and poor edition of  "The Honeymooners" after the original series ended. 

Tickets are available at the Paper Mill Playhouse 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ. or by calling 973.376.4343. The limited engagement ends October. 29. 

PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTO ONE: EVAN ZIMMERMAN

                                 PHOTOS TWO AND THREE: JERRY DALIA