[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of All Roads Theatre Company’s (ARTCO’s) One For My Baby, presented in association with Fred Barton, Sheri Clark Henriksen, Jeramiah Peay and Brian Zucker. Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ted Koehler, Johnny Mercer, E.Y. Harburg and Ira Gershwin, book by Scott Thompson and Fred Barton, and directed and choreographed by Scott Thompson.
The El Portal Theatre really couldn’t be a better spot for this remarkable new musical, jam packed with some of the greatest songs ever written.
The producers had an idea. Why not take some of their favorite iconic songs from the American songbook and write a story around them? But the show One For My Baby turned out to be much much more than just a vehicle for the songs.
One For My Baby is an absolutely brilliant story with fabulously fun and poignant characters all trying to find their place in a post-war world.
Set in the late 40s, the action revolves around the Dreamland night club. It’s a club where the customers go to party and fall in love, even if only for one night…and where the talent goes to make or break their careers. Of course, it’s a bit seedy and the worse for wear. However, when the lights go down and the drinks are flowing it’s about as close to heaven as most of the patrons and staff will ever get.
We are introduced to all of this by the ghost of Panama Jones, Dreamland’s beautiful co-founder. She has her own story to tell about the highs and the lows and the sad downfall of Dreamland. Everyone else is long gone, the paint is peeling, the shadows darkening and the echos of the wild nights are fading fast. But, as she talks, the stage is transformed into the hottest club in town, and the music and the dancers fill the stage one last time…
And what talent there is with One For My Baby! Broadway veterans, Lana Gordon as Panama Jones and Luba Mason as Tess Fleming are absolutely incredible, their gorgeous voices fill the theatre and raise the rafters!
The rest of the cast is just as talented and unforgettable! The dancers are truly phenomenal as well, with the wonderful choreography by Scott Thompson. Also, the live band raised up high on the back of the stage takes this wonderful musical to a whole other level!
The stakes are high, aren’t they always? Hearts are broken, lives ruined and superstars made. All to the backdrop of the most incredible songs, such as That Old Black Magic, The Man That Got Away, Come Rain or Come Shine and Get Happy. This brilliant cast sang and danced their hearts out and I could hardly stay in the seat for most of this fast-paced, high-octave show!
How lucky we are to have such creative genius in NoHo! Scott Thompson and Fred Barton’s One For My Baby is, in this writer’s humble opinion, one for the memory book! I absolutely loved it! And I could tell from the riotous applause and standing ovations that I am one of many!!
If this show doesn’t make it to Broadway then I’ll eat my hat! Bravo!
It has one last long weekend to thrill you, so don’t dawdle, you’ll be able to say you saw One For My Baby at El Portal Theatre in its maiden run!
Where:
El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd., NoHo Arts District, CA 91601.
When:
March 14 – 23
Friday, March 14, 2025 @ 8 pm
Saturday, March 15, 2025 @ 3 pm
Saturday, March 15, 2025 @ 8 pm
Sunday, March 16, 2025 @ 3 pm
Thursday, March 20, 2025 @ 8 pm
Friday, March 21, 2025 @ 8 pm
Saturday, March 22, 2025 @ 3 pm
Saturday, March 22, 2025 @ 8 pm
Sunday, March 23, 2025 @ 3 pm
Tickets:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/371/production/1210611
The Cast
Lana Gordon (Panama Jones), Luba Mason (Tess Fleming), C.J. Eldred, Lianne Marie Dobbs, Sean McGibbon, Jess Val Ortiz, Amber Wright, Harris M. Turner, Phil Pritchard, Natalie Holt McDonald, Luke Steinborn, Eric Toms.
Ensemble cast members include Todd Andrew Ball, Keaton Brandt, Ryan Cody, Barb Erfurt, Emma Featherstone, Sylvie Gosse, Brittany Rose Hammond, Shira Jackman, Danielle LaRauf, Max Larsen, Mark Marchillo, Kitrell “Kit Kat” Poe, Camal Pugh, Charlotte Scally, Olivia Schuh, Krystle Simmons, Alec Talbott, Jeremy Ward and Kelsee Woods.
The Production Team
Scott Thompson (Producer/Director/Choreographer), Fred Barton (Producer, Musical Director/Arranger), Jeramiah Peay (Producer/Managing Director), Sheri Clark Henriksen (Producer), Brian Zucker (Producer), Robert Levinstein (Production Stage Manager), Stephen DeAngelis (Casting Director), Paul Black (Set and Lighting Design), Shon LeBlanc (Costume Design), Julie Ferin (Sound Designer), Carter Thomas (Wig and Hair Design), Bouket Fingerhut (Prop Design), Joel Daavid (Technical Direction), Thomas Garcia (Assistant Stage Manager), Sylvie Gosse (Associate Choreographer), Mark Marchillo (Associate Choreographer), Joy Bodin Pacifici (Production Assistant), Derek Hecker (Set Construction), Pegge Forrest, Jay Irwin (El Portal Theatre Managers), Larry Sapperstein (Key Artwork, Production Photographer and Social Media) and Steve Moyer Public Relations (Press Representative).
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