CRITIC'S CHOICE

Given the current gay marriage debate, it is fascinating to recall the Eisenhower era, when embracing a same-gendered person in a bar was a ticket to incarceration. That acute perspective feeds "Play It Cool" at the Celebration. For an original musical, Larry Dean Harris and Mark Winkler's bebop look at the illegal gay nightclubs of 1950s Hollywood carries ample style and considerable substance.

Kurt Boetcher's black-on-black set places the audience in Mary's Hideaway, an underground jazz dive as deadpan hip as its proprietress (the terrific Jessica Sheridan). Mary knows all the angles, which does not stop Lena ( golden-voiced Katie Campbell), Mary's girlfriend, from heeding the advice of Tinsel town climber Eddie (Steven Janji, atop his game) to put her career ahead of her heart.

Into this den of iniquity-gorgeously lighted by Carol Doehring, elegantly costumed by Marjorie Baer- comes Kansas neophyte Will (Andrew Pandaleon, a major discovery). The starry-eyed singer goes from coming out (and how) with Eddie to coaching by Mary and mentoring by Henry (the touching Michael Craig Shapiro), a Hideaway fixture with a secret.

Sharon Rosen's smooth direction offsets still-refining quirks of libretto. Harris could expand the Pirandello aspects, trim some ballast and give Henry more Act 1 involvement, yet the dialogue snaps and pops, evoking Douglas Sirk without undue camp. Winkler's intelligent lyrics sit easily on contributions by multiple composers, from David Benoit to Phil Swann, an accomplished, kaleidoscopic songbook.

The wonderful cast inhales the specialized score and Marvin Tunney's choreography with plush assurance, repeatedly stopping the show, and musical director Louis Durra's Band is splendid. Tart, tuneful and trenchant in unexpected ways. 'Play It Cool" generates sizzling heat and not just for blue-note devotees.

-David C. Nichols

"Play It Cool", Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. - 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.
3 p.m. Sundays. - Ends July 16. Mature audiences. $30. (323) 957-1884. Running time: 2 hours.

CRITIC'S PICK - REVIEWED BY LES SPINDLE

Lightning strikes again for playwright Larry Dean Harris. His 2000 Serio-comedy Like an Old Song, set in a gay bar, was a gripping ensemble piece brimming with humor and heartbreak. For another narrative set in a gay hangout-this time a fictional 1953 Los Angeles jazz club- Harris joins forces with songwriter Mark Winkler (Naked Boys Singing!, Bark!) to create a scintillating jazz musical. Their bittersweet fable combines a hard-hitting look at homophobic laws of yesteryear with a tuneful and atmospheric lark.

The story takes place at Mary's Hideaway, under constant police scrutiny. The warmhearted proprietor-host is Mary (Jessica Sheridan); her amour Lena (Katie Campbell) is the key entertainer. Men can't dance together; patrons are routinely roughed up by officers as they leave the club, and the masculine dressing Mary must wear at least three pieces of female accessories. In to this suppressed refuge comes sweet Kansas youth Will (Andrew Pandaleon), dreaming of a singing career. He's initially attracted to the slick and insincere Eddie (Steven Janji) but ends up falling for an older, closeted married man, Henry (Michael Craig Shapiro). Relationships take sour turns, as the resilient Mary and Will strive to rise above the oppressive forces that are crushing their dreams.

Winkler has written clever and artful lyrics for 18 songs, with music by nine collaborators. The amalgam of swinging jazz ditties, comic numbers and torch songs results in a superb score, brought to shimmering life courtesy of music director-arranger Louis Durra and musicians Big Al Gruskoff and Adam Alesi, all skillfully woven into Harris' absorbing book. Director Sharon Rosen assembled a first rate cast of actor-singers. Sheridan is a powerhouse in the focal role, anchoring the proceedings with her mix of easygoing charm and take-charge toughness. Pandaleon is endearing and convincing, despite playing younger than his years. When he takes the stage to strut his charismatic stuff, the production reaches its shining peaks. Campbell excels as the sultry Chanteuse with a fickle heart. Janji exudes sexuality and intrigue as the opportunistic hustler. Shapiro etches a solid characterization as thde uptight businessman torn between the straight and gay worlds.

Marvin Tunney's choreography is sleek and stylish, and the design team (Kurt Boetcher, set; Marjorie Baer, costumes; Carole Doehring, lights) achieves a perfection of mood. The icing on the cake is the startling resonance of this period piece. As Harris ardonically noted in his opening night curtain speech, the outrageous laws governing gay bars no longer exist, but institutionalized homophobia still rears its ugly head in other Areas.

GO PLAY IT COOL In 1953 under Los Angeles' draconian anti-gay laws, denizens of a shadowy queer jazz club had to be wary of every sexual glance and innuendo lest they be hauled off to jail. But at Mary's Hideaway, queens and dykes bend the rules as far as they can. Larry Dean Harris' book for this musical has as much substance as the smoke from his film-noirish hero's cigarette - but we get solid jazz from five fine actor-singers who deliver lyricist Mark Winkler's music in a delightful evening. Jessica Sheridan belts her way through as Mary, the owner of the bar who gives too much of her heart to sultry songstress Lena, performed by Katie Campbell with sordid aplomb. The runaway star is Andrew Pandaleon, perfect as Will, a fresh-faced farm boy just off the bus from Kansas with dreams of being a famous singer - he is an immediate feast for queer, sleaze-ball, would-be agent Eddie (Steven Janji) and in-the-closet older fellow Henry (Michael Craig Shapiro). Sharon Rosen's appropriately dark and rhythmic staging directs us away from the play's flaws and to the cast's charm and captivating music, arranged and conducted by Louis Durra.

Celebration Theater, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru July 16. (323) 957-1884. (Tom Provenzano)