REVIEW: Theatre Guild of Hampden, "Jerry’s Girls"

Hampden Senior Center, Hampden, MA 

http://theatreguildofhampden.org

Through May 4, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

This “musical revue of songs from classic Jerry Herman musicals” premiered on Broadway in 1985. It features 33 numbers from seven of the prolific composer/lyricist’s Broadway shows, from “Milk and Honey” (1961) to “La Cage aux Folles” (1983), and one Off-Broadway revue, “Parade” (1960).

Director Mark Giza stages the Theatre Guild of Hampden’s elegant production in the intimate cabaret setting of the Hampden Senior Center’s community room. Audience members are seated at round tables, and the low stage against a simple backdrop of colorful banners for Herman’s shows allows the cast of nine singing actresses, all clad in stylish black, to mingle easily with attendees.

Most selections are sung by multiple cast members, but they range from solo performances to full ensemble numbers. The mix of slow ballads and upbeat showstoppers reveals the breadth of Herman’s talent and moves the show forward with satisfying variety. Imaginative choreography by Dina Del Bueno (who tap dances adroitly several times) keeps the cast in constant graceful motion. One-man-band musical director Parker Eastman coaxes a vast range of sounds from his keyboard.  

With no weak links in this strong cast, everyone has at least one highlight, including: Jessica Glasser’s rapturous “It Only Takes a Moment” (“Hello, Dolly!”); Amanda Emet’s scathing “Wherever He Ain’t” (“Mack and Mabel”); a joyous full-cast “We Need a Little Christmas” (“Mame”), complete with garland and twinkling headgear; and Robyn Scott’s heartbreaking “I Won’t Send Roses” (“Mack and Mabel”).

 

Equally impressive are: Margie Secora’s rousing soliloquy and “Before the Parade Passes By” (“Hello, Dolly!”); a devastating “I Don’t Want To Know” (“Dear World”) by Becca Greene-Van Horn; Kate Fusco’s poignant “Time Heals Everything” (“Mack and Mabel”); Andrea Stolar’s hilarious “Gooch’s Song” (“Mame”); and a few delightful cameos by stage manager Gail Weber.

 

But the star performer of the evening, who keeps stealing the show, is veteran Kathy Renaud, who delivers: a witty “Bosom Buddies” (“Mame”) with Secora; a shattering “If He Walked into My Life” (“Mame”); an uproarious “Nelson” (“A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine”), ending on a clear high C; and a defiantly vital “I Am What I Am” (“La Cage aux Folles”).  

 

Fans of entertaining cabaret sung with heart and spunk by a talented team of resourceful women should waste no time getting tickets.