The Teapot Scandals

Porchlight Music Theatre

http://www.porchlighttheatre.com

 

How does one create a well-crafted, hummable melody?  There has certainly been a slew of books that attempt to answer this very question.  These tomes study classic 20^th-century melodies from Gershwin to the Beatles’, as well as analyze chord structures employed by Cole Porter, Count Basie and Elton John.  In my opinion, however, these books are mostly useless.  When it comes to the skill of melody-writing, you either have it or you don’t.  Jon Steinhagen, composer and lyricist of Porchlight’s The Teapot Scandals, has it.  His tunes are exceedingly catchy.  The lyrics are clever and finely crafted, closer to that of Cole Porter’s jovial wit rather than the more cynical Sondheim.  Steinhagen employs a wide range of musical styles, including ragtime, Charleston, barbershop quartet and jazz, and his talents keep this show moving at a highly enjoyable pace, leading to an overall rousing evening of theatre. 

 

The Teapot Scandals is presented as a show-within-a-show.  Set in the 1920’s, a group of actors have gathered together to explain to the audience, through the use of a musical review, the many details regarding the catastrophic presidency of Warren G. Harding. 

 

Who was Warren G. Harding, and why is he worthy of a musical?  The show informs us that President Harding is considered by many historians as the worst president in American history, presiding over an administration full of debauchery and scandals, most notably a scandal referred to as Teapot Dome, involving the administration receiving kickbacks from large oil firms in exchange for secret no-bid contracts, allowing the companies to illegally drill in government-owned oil fields (can you say Enron and Haliburton?).  The land in question was in an area of Wyoming referred to as Teapot Dome, which is where the scandal, and the show, gets its title.

 

The 11-member cast is exemplary, including the charismatic Michael Rosenblum (narrator), the purposely bumbling Brandon Dahlquist (Warren Harding), the delightfully over-the-top Scott Gryder, and the comedic Elizabeth Haley playing Harding’s wife.  Other standouts include hilariously eccentric Sarah Hayes (fortune-teller Madame Marcia), and the sassy Tawny Newsome as one of Harding’s many mistresses (Sugarmouth Phillips). 

 

Although all of the Steinhagen’s songs are top-notch, there are a few that rise above the rest, most notably the jazzy “Mama’s Got a Great Big Mouth”, the jovial barbershop quartet “Who Put the Tea in the Teapot”, the bawdy “A Thing for Soldiers” (featuring a group of soldiers in polka-dot boxer shorts) and Warren Harding’s endearing solo number “I Played the Tuba in My Hometown Band”. 

 

Though this show gets overall high marks, there are a few problems with it. First, being that this is a musical review, it is difficult to really connect with the people and the subject matter.  There is not much chance for character development, so we really don’t have any emotional investment in the people or the story.  Secondly, there are some confusing time-line problems.  As we are told in the first number, Teapot Scandals is set shortly after the Harding presidency, so the show should be, and is, presented in past tense.  But there are a few moments, most notably “The President’s Walk”, where the cast passes out lyric changes because Harding has done something that they didn’t expect.  If the story is done after Harding’s presidency is over, how could this be? 

 

Despite these few problems, The Teapot Scandals is still a delightful musical review Throughout Porchlight Music Theatre’s 13-year existence, they have been a dependable producer of quality musicals, and their world premiere of The Teapot Scandals does not disappoint.  Exceedingly clever, and chocked-full of delightful ditties, it is definitely worth a look-see.

 

Rating: Recommended (3 stars)

 

 

Reviewed by Scotty Zacher

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