Roberta on the Arts

The Street, by Ronnie Cohen with Jane Beale, and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, by George Axelrod, are both smash hits, the latter from 1955 (a Broadway hit with Jayne Mansfield, Orson Bean, and Walter Matthau) and the former a new musical comedy with some choreography to boot. Both plays revolve around the theme of new-found success, with the ladies on The Street making a killing on the market, thanks to a chance opportunity and a gutsy risk, and with the stagnant playwright suddenly meeting the Hollywood devil who sells success for a piece of the soul.

The Street is literally a brilliant musical, with brisk dialogue, romantic dialogue, sincere dialogue, and entertaining dialogue, all sharp, clever, and set to hummable melodies in solos and ensemble. The Street has a book that builds momentum and grabs the audience from the very first notes, professionally played on piano by Daniel Cataneo, Musical Director, whose expression illustrated the intended emotion of the moment. Whitney and Tiki are young women on the move, with an investment firm and gym-fit presence. Tiki is proudly Chinese and Fiona Choi works the cultural role to its fullest potential, always with respect and class. Leslie Ann Friedman, as Whitney, is one determined woman on a mission of success.

Tiki soon becomes seduced by Nick, a Greek restaurateur, and the food descriptions, such as in the song, “Shellfish, a Love Song”, were always authentic and made me crave just such a bistro with just such a charming proprietor. And, Whitney becomes financially seduced by Brighton (Ryan Hilliard), who comes calling for private school connections. His hilarious boss, Jill (Theresa Rose), CEO of a cosmetic firm, has twins with her female companion, and Whitney’s alma mater is just the school they need. Jill is eventually seduced by the private school’s prospective parent interview specialist. The Wall Street office maid, Dolores (Jen Percival) leads a double life, and her solo, “It Must Be Me”, was grand. There are too many scenes, songs, and sub-plots to detail, but surely The Street will find an Off-Broadway home very soon. This is potentially a long-running cult play that could seduce any audience.

Paulanne Simmons / nytheatrewire.com

The Street. a new musical at Workshop Theatre "Mainstage," with book, music and lyrics by Ronnie Cohen, tells the story of two women, who, after experiencing stymied careers working for other people, decide to establish their own brokerage firm. Whitney (Leslie Anne Friedman) is a hard-working, hard-driving WASP, with a vulnerable spot she tries to hide. Tiki (the beautifully voiced Fiona Choi) is her Asian partner. The two entrepreneurs plan a meteoric rise to fame in their new office and over lunches at Achilles Greek Restaurant. The waiter/chef at Achilles is an amiable Greek Jew named Nick, played with effervescence and perfect timing by Jason Adamo. Nick falls in love with Tiki and woos her with mouth-watering dishes.

Whiney and Tiki plot some shady dealings that concern selling short the stock of Chill Spas, a beauty products company owned by Jill (Theresa Rose), a fast-talking, wise-cracking lesbian Jew with four-year-old twins she is raising with her partner, a Latin American named Carmen. Jill faces two crises: she wants to get her kids into the prestigious Harvard Country Day School, and she needs to get product out to her client, something rendered difficult by her company's failure to produce on time.

Jill has a lackey named Brighton (Ryan Hilliard), a fussy Englishman with a quick mind and an ironic sense of humor. She soon acquires another devotee, the skinny, bespectacled Hamilton (Jonathan Whitton), an employee of Harvard Country Day School, who comes to interview Jill in her office. Everyone courts and almost gets caught in disaster but in the end most of the problems are solved or well on the way to resolution. And, of course, love triumphs.

The Street is one of those shows that is undeniably entertaining and engaging, to a great extent thanks to all the energy director and choreographer Heidi Lauren Duke gets out of her actors. Cohen's music is  memorable ("That's Marketing" hits the mark beautifully) and audiences get belly laughs and action that keeps this play bounding along like a red rubber ball. Catch it!

Nancy Kim / NYTHEATRE.COM

Although the two industries share New York City as their capital, the financial and theatre worlds rarely cross paths. That is until you visit The Street, where smart female characters talk about stock options one moment and break out into song in the next moment. In this musical comedy, Ronnie Cohen gives us a glimpse into the career women working on Wall Street.

In the first of many risks that are posed to the characters of The Street, Whitney urges Tiki to set up their own investment firm. While they strike out on their own, Jill is, in contrast, a highly successful and highly temperamental skin care CEO. All the women here are thrown into high stakes situations when Jill seals the fate of her company with one risky move and Whitney makes a bold prediction that can make or break her start-up firm. Though much of the show has an upbeat comic tone, the economic theories and finance terms peppered throughout it are surprisingly compelling as they give these characters moments to display their smarts and gutsy attitudes.

Not only driven by profits and delivering product, these characters are also faced with personal and moral risks. Though able to readily call up numbers and stocks, the cautious Tiki weighs in on the risks of romance with Nick, the neighborhood restaurateur. Meanwhile Jill sees an opportunity to take advantage of an admirer. These subplots fit in with the comic elements and provide the material for the expected love songs in a musical, yet are not distractions from the sharper satire of the women working in the financial world.

Leslie Anne Friedman and Theresa Rose do good work as Whitney and Jill. As the story's center, Friedman's Whitney is played with a mix of earnestness and sass, Rose has much fun as the villainess Jill. Spouting Chinese aphorisms and being a rather timid character, Fiona Choi is winsome as Tiki, despite what could have been seen as a stereotype by a lesser actor. Jason Adamo, Ryan Hilliard, and Jonathan Whitton also take strong turns in key roles.

In addition to co-writing the book, Ronnie Cohen is responsible for the catchy songs. With the musical direction of Daniel Cataneo and some fun choreography by director Heidi Lauren Duke, the cast and ensemble are given ample opportunity to shine.

this review has been gently edited – for the review in its entirety, pls see nytheatre.com