THE BASICS: ALLEY OF THE DOLLS, adapted from the movie “Valley of the Dolls” by Jimmy Janowski, directed by Chris Kelly, starring Jimmy Janowski, Renee Landrigan, Matt Refermat, Christopher Standart, Michael Blasdell, Dan Urtz, Alex Anthony Garcia, and Michael Seitz opened on July 9 and runs through July 31, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 pm, at the Alleyway Theatre Mainstage, 1 Curtain Up Alley, Buffalo, NY 14202 (enter from the alley connecting Pearl and Main Streets). For tickets and information visit www.alleyway.com or www.buffalounitedartists.org or call 716-852-2600.
BUA, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, is a self-supporting collective of professional theater artists working to present provocative and relevant work that examines the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer experience. BUA began performing in January 1992. For more information, visit www.buffalounitedartists.org.
Runtime: Two hours with one intermission
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: After a pandemic hiatus of two years, BUA is back with their popular “Summer Camp” series offering loving parodies. This time it’s the LGBTQ cult classic campy film from 1967 “Valley Of The Dolls.” I highly recommend watching the movie before you go see the play. Some of what you see on stage is original, some is adapted, and some is word for word from the movie script, and it’s funnier if you know which is which. You can download it on Prime (we were told it’s free this month) or on Redbox for $3.99, or rent or buy via YouTube here.
Here is my summary of the movie (with BUA actors noted in parentheses): Anne Welles (Christopher Standart) gets her first job out of Radcliffe as a secretary for a NYC theatrical law firm, where she experiences firsthand the vitriol of aging diva Helen Lawson (Jimmy Janowski). Lawson insists that her producers get rid of younger Neely O’Hara (Renee Landrigan) whose singing and acting talent threaten her, and then rips up the paperwork that poor Anne has brought to be signed. Back at the office, Anne is comforted by (and later falls in love with) attorney Lyon Burke (Michael Seitz).
Seeing themselves as young women in a common struggle to get ahead in a man’s world, Anne befriends Neely as well as the beautiful but not-so-bright or talented actress Jennifer North (Michael Blasdell). Jennifer is wooed and later marries the singer/actor Tony Polar (Alex Garcia) against the wishes of his manager/sister Miriam Polar (Jimmy Janowski) who knows that Tony has a terminal disease. Later, to help pay for her husband’s institutionalization, Jennifer agrees reluctantly to make French (in the movie, but Polish in the play) “art films” (dismissed as “nudies” by Neely). Taking on many of the other movie roles in this play were Matthew Refermat and Dan Urtz.
Although the through-line in the movie centers on Anne (although Jennifer has a compelling story), the big dramatic arc, and the most dramatic and bitchy scenes (including the famous wig in the toilet scene), belong to Neely. She has become so addicted to booze and pills (her “dolls” as she calls them – barbiturates to calm her down and Dexedrine to get her going again) that for a while she must be institutionalized. She cheats on her own husbands (yes, plural) and has an affair with Lyon, causing even Anne to try a fistful of dolls, and almost end her life drowning in the sea.
“Valley of the Dolls,” the movie about women who are friends experiencing together success and failure in both their careers and their love lives while sporting fabulous clothes, shoes, and handbags, might be seen as a champion of women’s independence and agency in the world and the precursor to the very popular television series “Sex and the City.” Or, it might just be campy, kitschy, trash. Either way, it is a perfect vehicle for BUA.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: BUA’s founder and Artistic Director for 30 years, Javier Bustillos, has passed the torch to Co-Artistic Directors Rick Lattimer and Mike Doben, who, while hinting at changes to come, wisely stuck to a tried and true formula for the company’s first live production in two years.
And, rest assured, it’s once again a wonderful vehicle for Jimmy Janowski who not only gets his usual entrance applause but even wild applause when his name appears on the mock Twentieth Century Fox opening credits. (Those credits and several other hilarious made-for-this-show video clips are credited to Chris Kelly.) Janowski is, as ever, the soul of graciousness. In fact, as we arrived at the theater, in the alley outside the stage door, there was Jimmy Janowski, naked from the waist up, giving everyone a “preeting” (think pre-show meet’n’greet) and joking that you don’t get THAT at the Kavinoky or Irish Classical. Speaking of which, Irish Classical co-founder, Josephine Hogan, is referred to (affectionately) several times in the play. That’s typical of BUA summer camp shows, to draw on a wide variety of references, some from the movie, some very local. Again, you’d be wise to watch the film “Valley of the Dolls.”
Back to Janowski’s gracious nature, at the curtain call, he addressed the audience as he always does, and before inviting everyone to meet’n’greet the actors in the lobby, he turned and warmly welcomed the cast members making their BUA debuts, including Alex Garcia, Renee Landrigan, Matthew Refermat, and Dan Urtz. There are many reasons that Janowski is beloved among fellow actors and audiences and one of the greatest is that he has class.
Speaking of the newbies, Artie winner Dan Urtz (2020 Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play for HAND TO GOD) brought a new face to the BUA stage but one with a lot of experience. Here he has to play multiple roles and utility roles as well, and, like everyone else in this production, jumps in with both feet as do Garcia and Refermat. Together, the three as “newsies” (think talking headlines) are a deft touch.
Renee Landrigan (2018 Artie Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for ONCE) was a good casting choice as Neely since she has impeccable comic timing, she fully commits to her roles, and has a beautiful singing voice. You might think that for a sendup, perhaps a crappy voice would work, but then it would be a long evening and could appear amateurish. That is the BUA secret sauce for summer camp, to look unpolished on purpose.
The charm of BUA shows is that if anything goes wrong, the adlib or coverup will be just as funny as the original.
Having said that, there may have been one missed SFX cue, or maybe it was on purpose, (you never know with BUA) prompting Chris Standart to improvise his own cue. That brought down the house. And it’s a tradition that at several points during a summer camp show Michael Seitz will get the giggles. Again, the audience loves that. The charm of BUA shows is that if anything goes wrong, the adlib or coverup will be just as funny as the original. I could go on and on with all the delicious little moments, but that would result in one huge spoiler alert.
Kudos to Stage Manager Matthew Mogensen who has to deal with many, many quick cuts, entrances, exits, and many props. And also to Janowski and Bebe Bvlgari (Michael Blasdell’s drag name) who are credited along with “Dame Chevon Davis” with Costume and Wig Design (always a BUA high point) with Ellen Scherer and Kayla Reumann in charge of wardrobe.
In summary, both the production and the play are exactly what we need this summer. If the genre/content are up your alley (get it???) I would make a real effort to attend.
NOTES: Earning just a 34% on the “Tomatometer” on Rotten Tomatoes the Critics Consensus is “Trashy, campy, soapy, and melodramatic, Valley of the Dolls may be a dud as a Hollywood exposé , but has nonetheless endured as a kitsch classic.” If you click on the individual Critic Reviews you’ll find quotes such as “Top Critic” Jason Bailey’s “It has much of what we require from truly great camp; namely, it takes itself with utter seriousness, and the further it goes down that rabbit hole, the less aware it seems of its own ridiculousness, the funnier it becomes.” Critic Sarah Cartland wrote: “I knew the clothes would be terrific when I spotted “Handbags by…” in the opening credits.” and TV Guide pronounced it “Pure trash, based on a trashy book, filled to the brim with trashy performances, now becoming a trashy cult film.”
MORE NOTES: In the BBC Magazine article “The ‘camp trash’ that became a classic” columnist Lindsay Baker writes about “Valley of the Dolls” that “both the book and film have become part of the LGBT cultural canon. Why is that?” To answer that question he turns to British author and cultural commentator Paul Burston. “Larger-than-life female characters have often struck a chord with gay audiences,” says Burston. “And ‘Valley’ has several female archetypes we all recognize. There’s the fading star, the ambitious young rival, and the doomed beauty. There are shades of Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis in “All About Eve” – all of whom have traditionally struck a chord with gay men. The film version though flawed, has added to the cult appeal.”
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!