‘Flea’ masters comic formula, ‘Sinatra’ swinging

Door-slamming farces can be sidesplitting or simply earsplitting. To pull them off properly, you need a good script, a cast with a firm grasp of comic timing and a director who can keep up the frantic pace.

Luckily, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of George Feydeau’s classic comedy “A Flea in Her Ear” is proficient in all three departments.

A hit ever since it was first seen on the French stage in 1907, “A Flea in Her Ear” is a staple that has not worn out its welcome. The Rep’s translation by David Ives captures Feydeau’s bawdy spirit while adding a few English puns for good measure.

The story is chock-full of misdirection, mistaken identities and duplicity. The setting is Paris in the early 1900s. Raymonde Chandebise (Carol Halstead) suspects that her longtime husband Victor (John Scherer) is being unfaithful. She enlists the aid of her friend Lucienne (Anne L. Nathan) to set a trap for him.

They write him a fake note from an anonymous lover asking him to meet her at the disreputable Frisky Puss Hotel for an extramarital tryst. Naturally, their plan backfires in ways they could not imagine.

The cast is made up of a solid group of pros, many from the Kansas City area. Among those who give memorable turns are Jonathan Root as Camille, Victor’s libidinous nephew who suffers from a speech defect, Mark Robbins as Dr. Finache, a physician who frequents the shady Frisky Puss, Thom Rivera as Carlos, Lucienne’s violently jealous husband, and Allan Boardman as an elderly sot that the hotel employs as a distraction.

But the most difficult task falls to Scherer, who skillfully performs the parts of both Victor and a look-alike hotel worker. Even though their appearances are identical, there is never any doubt which character is onstage at any given time.

Director Gary Griffin, who also helmed the hit Broadway production of “The Color Purple,” lights a fire under his cast and ably establishes a breakneck pace the material demands.

“A Flea in Her Ear” runs through June 7 at the Helen Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. For ticket information, call (816) 235-2700 or visit www.kcrep.org.

ALL SINATRA

Say, Jack, if you’re lookin’ for a knocked out, cuckoo, swingin’ evening, you could do a lot worse than “All Sinatra,” a cabaret concert of more than 50 songs associated with “Ol’ Blue Eyes” himself, Frank Sinatra.

The Quality Hill Playhouse brings back this popular revue that it originally presented a few years back. As is customary, J. Kent Barnhart directs, arranges, sings and provides piano accompaniment for this energetic evening of American pop standards.

John Daugharthy and Melinda MacDonald handle most of the vocals with occasional help from Barnhart, who also provides solid piano accompaniment. They receive able support from Steve Lenhert on bass and Ken Remmert on drums.

The melodies include immediately recognizable Sinatra standards such as “The Lady is a Tramp,” “New York, New York” and “Strangers in the Night,” as well as a few more obscure tunes like “French Foreign Legion.”

George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and others wrote the songs, but, as Barnhart rightly points out, “It was Sinatra that made them standards.”

Both Daugharthy and MacDonald have voices that are well-suited for musical theater and make no attempt to imitate the crooner’s style.

The opening tune, “A Lovely Way to Spend and Evening,” provides a fitting description of the whole show.

“All Sinatra” runs through June 28 at the Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St, Kansas City, Mo. For ticket information, call (816) 421-1700 or visit www.qualityhillplayhouse.com.

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