The pitfall in devising a biographical play about a one-of-a-kind entertainer is, not surprisingly, the impossibility of (first) creating a character and (second) filling it with a performer who can measure up to the star in question. The creators of Smart Blonde, Willy Holtzman’s chronicle of the larger-than-life combination of talents that was Judy Holliday (1921-65), have sidestepped this trap by placing the role in the highly capable hands of Andréa Burns. The actress does not offer a precise catalogue of Holliday’s attributes nor a step-by-step impersonation, but she smoothly and convincingly (and entertainingly) brings to life this representation of America’s stereotypical “dumb blonde” of the post-World War II era.
That Burns does well in this role is not exactly surprising. She has given impressive performances since she first surfaced in Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World in 1995, and was a highlight of such entertainments as Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, and the Gloria Estefan musical On Your Feet! For Smart Blonde, she does not try to remake herself as the unique Holliday, which might be why she succeeds so well.
The other problem with bioplays, though, comes in the method of storytelling. It is here that Holtzman runs into a familiar problem: instead of creating a compelling play, he offers episodes from the life of Judy Holliday. Many are highly amusing, especially as staged by Peter Flynn (husband of Burns) and breezily performed by three versatile actors who cover all bases. Given that the personae of Holliday’s life included the likes of Betty and Adolph and Lenny (and if you don’t know who I mean, this is not the show for you), these episodes are often quite colorful indeed.
But there is way too much of characters walking on and saying, “Oh, now we’re here.” Rather than dramatizing the life, we too often just get the key story points. Many moments are thrust upon us almost as captions: The highs of overnight Broadway stardom in Born Yesterday and winning the Oscar for the film version of the same, beating out not only B. Davis in All About Eve but G. Swanson in Sunset Boulevard; the lows of being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and her husband leaving for another woman, or is it a man? The result is that the narrative veers at times, as with the last-moment reveal of—yes!—cancer, towards melodrama and soap.
Holtzman also hamstrings the proceedings by adding a dozen songs. The concept, which is about as fresh as a box of two-week-old donuts, places us in a recording studio near the end of Holliday’s life, where memories of the old days intrude on the slightest pretext. Holliday was an occasional singer, yes, and she did write lyrics to music by Gerry Mulligan, but the songs are shoehorned in, in choppy manner.
Director Flynn helps matters by accentuating the comic touches and swiftly moving the pace along. His other actors are in constant motion and in constantly changing characters. Broadway veteran Mark Lotito provides ballast as two reed players, husband David Diamond and almost-husband Mulligan. Jonathan Spivey serves as the spark of the group, plugging away at the piano while frequently stepping from behind the keyboard to serve as Adolph, “Gar” Kanin, and others. Andrea Bianchi, hitherto unknown to this reviewer, demonstrates strong comic talent as she moves from Betty Comden to Ruthie Gordon to Holliday’s communist-lesbian lover, Yetta Cohn; and finally, and most unexpectedly, Marilyn Monroe, who came along five years after Holliday to become America’s next favorite dumb blonde. (As someone who spent time around Betty and Adolph and Ruthie, let me add that these impersonations are most cleverly accomplished.)
But it is Burns who makes the evening, as the talented-but-insecure seemingly-stereotypical blonde with a sky-high intellect which she felt compelled to shield from view. From her first moments—bearing take-out coffee cups for the workers, followed by her overly cautious approach/attack of the microphone in the recording studio—Burns is constantly and unflaggingly winning.
Smart Blonde opened March 26, 2019, at 59E59 and runs through April 13. Tickets and information: 59e59.org
