No surprises at Winter Park Playhouse’s ‘Honky Tonk Laundry’ | Review
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When you do laundry, you don’t want any surprises: No one wants the whites coming out pink, or the large shirts suddenly reduced to mediums. But what makes for a successful day in the utility room can feel a bit disappointing in the theater.
“Honky Tonk Laundry,” which opens Winter Park Playhouse’s 21st season, is another jukebox musical from Roger Bean. Playhouse patrons have seen a bevy of his shows there over the years, including “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and “The Andrews Brothers.”
No surprise, Bean sticks to his formula: An array of familiar songs, a wisp of a story line and a couple of broadly drawn characters — only two in the case of “Laundry.” But there’s a real feeling of missed opportunity in this honky tonk, because Bean had a chance to say something a little deeper about female empowerment, the importance of friendship and how our dreams keep us going. Instead, he touches on the ideas but never fully explores them — which is all the more odd because his musical’s first act is too talky.
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Maybe what’s lacking is more noticeable because Heather Alexander and Tay Anderson, who star in the Playhouse production, are the kind of actors who can bring out the depth of a character — even in a lighthearted romp such as this. But Bean doesn’t ever give them the chance to fully sink their teeth into Lana Mae (Alexander), the mature woman who put her dreams on hold to run the family laundromat, or Katie Lane (Anderson), the younger woman who is finding her way in the world.
Lana Mae gives Katie Lane a job in her “washateria,” and the two bond over their problematic love lives while, in a recurring bit strangely out of step with the times, the older woman keeps pushing pills (Have a Xanax! Take a Valium!) on the younger one for laughs.
On opening night, the adrenaline was in overdrive, making the opening scenes of the show too loud and too broad. But director Roy Alan’s performers found their footing and developed a fine chemistry as they play off one another and create country-songbird harmonies.
Alexander keeps Bean’s steady stream of homespun phrases — “Bless your pea-pickin’ li’l heart” and “Purtier than socks on a rooster” — from wearing thin, no small feat. And Anderson makes her addled state funny without taking it over the top.
As in other Bean shows, the song choices and the singing are where the magic really happens: Anderson struts her way through a devilish cover of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” soars through a scorching rendition of Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” and finds the sly humor in Pam Tillis’s “Cleopatra, Queen of Denial” — a real oldie but a real goodie.
The most beautiful musical moment, though, comes when Alexander sings a poignant cover of Terri Clark’s “Smile,” with some of that blissful harmony from Anderson. Gorgeously moving.
But the goofing around is soon back at center stage, with Alexander decked out in curls that are Dolly Parton blonde while Anderson sports Wynonna Judd auburn. (The pitch-perfect wigs are by Jillian Rois.)
Music director Christopher Leavy’s six-piece band, with guitars and fiddle, provides nicely country-fried backup, and Alan’s couple of choreographed moments add a bit of boot-scootin’ energy. But like in many a country ballad, I still find myself lamenting what might have been.
‘Honky Tonk Laundry’
Length: 2:15, including intermission
Where: Winter Park Playhouse, 711 Orange Ave. in Winter Park
When: Through Aug. 27
Cost: $39-$46 (student, military, entertainment-industry discounts)
Info: winterparkplayhouse.org
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