Champagne And Moonlight

Tonight I went to see The Philadelphia Story at Pioneer Theatre.  This play is a delightful drawing room comedy filled with sparkling wit, debonair gentlemen, and women in shimmering gowns cut on the bias.  Just the thing for a cold winter evening.  A socialite's wedding plans go awry when a handsome journalist wants to interview her family about Philadelphia Society and her ex-husband shows up at her door.  Who is the right man for Tracy?  With a little matchmaking from Tracy's younger sister, there is, indeed, a wedding at the conclusion of the play.  But who is the groom?  The story is set in 1938 so the costumes are just lovely. People certainly knew how to dress back then!  The set is also amazing.  At one moment it is a drawing room in a mansion on Philadelphia's Main Line and the next it is a terrace outside the drawing room.  The change from one scene to the next is seamlessly effected by a bevy of actors costumed as servants.  All of the actors seem to have a lot of fun with the material and I especially loved Bailee Johnson as Dinah, the youngest daughter.  I enjoyed Allison McLemore as Tracy Lord but it seemed like she was portraying Katharine Hepburn (who is Tracy in the movie adaptation) rather than the character.  I wish that she had made the role her own rather than relying on Hepburn's iconic interpretation.  That is precisely what Todd Gearhart was able to do as Dexter Haven.  He successfully brought his own brand of sophistication to the role made famous by Cary Grant.  The Philadelphia Story is a light-hearted romp which pokes a little bit of fun at class and privilege and I highly recommend getting a ticket to the locals.