Ideas of a new Kathie Lee Gifford musical might conjure up images of shoulder-shimmying conga lines or even patty-cake kid ditties, but “Saving Aimee,” her second production under the direction of Signature Theatre’s Eric Schaeffer, sufficiently dispels that notion.
Gifford’s dramatic account attempts to appear fair and objective as it chronicles the life and tabloid times of religious zealot Aimee Semple McPherson, the 1920s radio evangelist who founded the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and its Angelus Temple in Los Angeles.
Gifford gamely explores the true story of a spirited woman who had more of an appetite for glamour and histrionics than most of her secular counterparts booked on the Orpheum circuit. It’s a strange journey from precocious, literate teenager to world-famous faith healer, and through Gifford’s lyrics and script, we learn the fascinating details of the successful evangelical pioneer who courted scandal as a lover and overdosed on barbiturates days before her 54th birthday.
» The Highlights:
Featuring the astonishing talents of bona fide Broadway star Carolee Carmello, “Aimee” casts a spell while brewing an intoxicating formula of courtroom drama and musical theater. David Pomeranz and David Friedman provide a rousing score of roughly two dozen songs, and Gifford’s accompanying lyrics are both interesting and functional.
» The Lowlights:
Though Michael Clark’s titillating projections keep us informed of date and time through sensational newspaper headlines and universal commentary, Walt Spangler’s generic stage setting renders most scenes visually bland and void of personal space. With such a sprawling playing area, it’s easy to wish the cast could fill a more specific room or place — without pinpointing a location, Schaeffer’s production rumbles along in a sort of nebulous terrain of the unknown.
» The Cast:
It’s about time Carmello took center stage with her own star vehicle, and here Sister Aimee is a holy-rolling vocalist with one hell of a belt. If you want hair-raising notes, then Carmello is your gal. Involved in Gifford’s project since its workshop stage in New York, Carmello’s impassioned Aimee is always compelling and, perhaps even more surprising, is entirely, incredibly believable as she gently ages from 17 to 53 years old.
Florence Lacey and Ed Dixon lend character support as Aimee’s parents, and Dixon later struts his signature comic flair as a hypocritical preacher named Brother Bob. E. Faye Butler is also on hand as a glorified madam converted by Sister Aimee.
» The Designers:
Chris Lee’s shadowy lighting perfectly complements the lush, delicious orchestrations from Bruce Coughlin, and Jenny Cartney conducts an expert orchestra under Michael Rice’s music direction.
» Munch on This:
Carmello attacks the character of Aimee like a woman possessed, and her fervent woman of the cloth (Aimee’s sense of fashion evolves from stark white dresses cloaked in military-style capes to glittery Sunday gowns) will make you a believer. In a season filled with world-premiere promises of grandeur, Gifford’s musical delivers, from the first note to the last.
‘Saving Aimee’
Book, lyrics by Kathie Lee Gifford
Music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman
Directed by Eric Schaeffer
Through May 13
» Venue: Signature Theatre, 2800 S. Stafford St., Arlington
» Tickets: $37 to $63
» Performances: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays
» Info: 703-820-9771, www.signature-theatre.org
