Theater Review: Once Upon a Time in New Jersey

Fairytale Fun in an Above-Average Showcase Production
By Lauren Yarger
Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy #2. He is having an affair with another girl who’s married to boy #3 who orders a hit on boy #2 who trades identities with boy #1. Implausible? Yes, but it's also good for a lot of laughs when it takes place Once Upon a Time in New Jersey playing Off-Broadway at Hudson Guild Theatre.

The Prospect Theater Company production features an earlier collaboration between composer Stephen Weiner and Susan DiLallo (book and lyrics) and it’s fun to see sparks of the creative talent that would fuse again into the hilarious musical Iron Curtain (on which they collaborated with lyricist Peter Mills). Strains of Weiner’s style and DiLallo’s witty way with words flow throughout the musical produced this time in association with New York Musical Theatre Festival.

The script could use an edit (especially the first act) and a trimming to 90 minutes without an intermission (it’s two plus with one), but there’s still a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor there to enjoy, especially in this show, directed by Cara Reichel (who also helmed the production of Iron Curtain I enjoyed in 2008 at the O’Neill Playwright Festival.)

This energetic, vocally strong cast of 15 romps through Christine O’Grady’s choreography and more than 20 musical numbers on a set constructed of multi-tasking flats (Jen Price Fick, designer). These elements, combined with a six-person band conducted by Musical Director Remy Kurs, make this an Equity Showcase production of exceptional quality.

Told in the guise of a loose fairytale, the 1956 love story of Angie (Briga Heelan) and Vinnie (David Perlman) plays out against the deli in the Garden State where they work. Shy Vinnie who thinks a dream date involves watching "Beowolf," can’t express his feelings to Angie, especially when she sets her sights on his anthithesis, Rocco (Jeremy Cohen), the local cool-guy Cassanova. Rocco’s most recent conquest, ballroom dance instructor Celeste (Catherine LeFrere), may be his last, however, when her jealous mobster husband, Billy (Jonathan Gregg), orders a hit to eliminate his competition.

Rocco enlists geeky Vinnie to trade identities with him and gives him lessons on how to dress and perfect the lines and moves that will attract women. Vinnie employs the techniques to win Angie’s heart, but Rocco might not be what she needs for a happily-ever-after ending after all. No explanation is given for how the men are mistaken for each other with just the help of a haircut and some exchanged clothing (even Vinnie‘s mother can't tell the difference), but when you get to enjoy songs like “Someone That I Hate,” “Married to a Thug,” and “Sandwiches to Make,” some of which are sung with salamis and hearts made out of garlands of garlic, you don’t ask a lot of questions.

Catch it until Oct. 31 at Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th St., between 9th and 10th avenues. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or by visiting www.ProspectTheater.org. Specially-priced student tickets ($22) also are available.

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