Geva Theater Center begins its 41st season with a decidedly festive country-opry show about working hard to please an audience. Actually, this is the 30th anniversary of Pump Boys and Dinettes, and the two original female stars, who were also two of the creators (co-authors) of this show – Cass Morgan and Debra Monk – attended Geva’s opening night.
Vicki Smith’s elaborate set is the gaudily decorated road-stop restaurant, gas station and auto-repair shop, complete with flashing signs and lights, where the waitresses serve food and drink, and the “pump boys” service vehicles. They all sing and dance to entertain themselves as much as their customers. The show’s audiences are invited to walk up onto the stage before and after Act I and actually buy and consume the pies and drinks that are displayed onstage.
Nothing much of any dramatic consequence happens onstage. There are flirtations, and a whole lot of joking is presented or illustrated by the liveliest and most forgettable songs you’ve ever heard. The singing is bright and entertaining throughout, but the two women – dark-haired Farah Alvin and red-headed Erin Maguire (playing Prudie Cupp and Rhetta Cupp, respectively) have little chance to demonstrate just how good they are. Then they sing their one really pretty song about being sisters so beautifully that I suddenly wish they had more rewarding music to deal with. But this music is what my dictionary says the slang term for is ‘shit-kicking music’; and, for me, that distinction is best illustrated here by a song one of the men sings about meeting Dolly Parton. It is the highlight of his life, he says, and she is the love of his life; but the passion is asexual and adolescent; and the song has none of the beauty or involvement that any country-Western number by Dolly Parton has.
Similarly, all six performers dance smartly and effectively to Peggy Hickey’s slick, musical choreography, some of which is inventive, some clever and amusing, but never passionate – much less sexy – as the dancing in Elvis Presley’s musical films decidedly is.
What plot there is involves sudden hot weather making them take off for a break on the beach in Florida, so they can strip down deliberately comically and not at all sensually, and vary their costumes and singing and dancing. The women move smartly. The men are all good musicians and play several instruments. They go out into the audience and pretend to interact with us (even asking for “tips”). Then it’s time to close up and do a fast bunch of encores of all those songs I can’t remember.
Mark Cuddy’s smartly paced direction keeps the whole entertainment light, adept and friendly. I saw this show three decades ago and remember it vaguely as being funny and brisk and cheerful – which it still is. But, perhaps inaccurately, I thought it had more distinctive music and a lot of charm. This one really is a fast, refreshing stop along the way; but I wouldn’t want to stay over or hurry to return. You’ll like the people, though. And you might want to try a slice of pie.
