How did I miss this musical when Hugh Jackman played Peter Allen on Broadway? It is one of the best 'jukebox musicals' I've seen. Great songs from Peter Allen and a compelling story about a great talent who struggled to reach stardom and died of AIDS just as he grabbed the golden ring. I feel this musical's book is every bit as strong as that of "Jersey Boys". Theatre Three in Port Jefferson created a great production. I cannot imagine it was any better on Broadway except that this production lacks Hugh Jackman. Steve McCoy, a regular at Theatre Three, played Peter Allen. To his credit he is a great singer and an energetic, credible actor. But despite the makeup and wig it is obvious he is about 20 years too old for this part and a bit too overweight. Throughout the performance he kept adjusting the toupee he was wearing to make himself look younger - and it was quite annoying. The rest of the cast was perfectly chosen - in particular Sari Feldman who played Liza Minnelli. She looked like Liza, sounded like Liza, got Liza's mannerisms and personality down just perfectly for a very strong, touching and plausible performance.
I was aware that both Liza and Judy Garland were characters in this musical - but I was surprised to find that they were leading characters. But oh what a horrible, volatile and unhealthy mother-daughter relationship they must have had - if the story line is true. The book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright implied that Garland was jealous of her own daughter's talents, youth and opportunities. She pushed Liza into marriage with the bisexual Allen knowing that it was doomed to fail, pushed Liza into the celebrity spotlight before she was secure enough to handle it, and Garland committed suicide because Liza's star was ascending fast as her own was descending into the toilet - as if it was Liza's fault. I have never heard Liza Minnelli say anything but adoring praise for her famous mother, even if Judy really was an envious, insecure, self-centered drunk that put her own interests before her daughter's. Garland and Minnelli might have made the ultimate Mama Rose and Louise in the musical "Gypsy" - certainly a missed casting opportunity. An actor named Brett Chizever played Greg Connell - Allen's last boyfriend who gave Allen AIDS. Chizever totally stole the scenes between himself and McCoy and tugged at the audience's heartstrings often in his sensitive and sincere performance.
And an actress named Mary Ellen Kurtz played Allen's mother and brought the audience to an ovation when she sang the show's 11 o'clock number 'Don't Cry Out Loud'. I would be amiss if I did not mention an 11-year old triple threat actor named Andrew Timmins who played the young Peter Allen in several scenes. He is incredibly talented. This was an excellent production. I am glad I am a supporter of Theatre Three. And at $25/ticket - how can one go wrong?
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