Cougar The Musical

September 7, 2012

St. Luke’s Theatre  –  Opened August 26, 2012

Eight years in the making, Cougar The Musical began as a two-person cabaret show that had a three-year run at Don’t Tell Mama. Now creator Donna Moore (playwright/lyricist/composer) has brought her revamped, four-person show to St. Luke’s Theater for an open-ended Off-Broadway run. Moore re-imagines the often-maligned cougar phenomenon (when a middle-aged woman is on the prowl for a much younger man) as a rite of passage for women who are at a crossroads and discover that the May/December affair wakes them up to new possibilities, if not always to lasting love.

Cougar The Musical tells the straightforward, if not inspired, story of the uptight, recently divorced Lily (Catherine Porter), the widowed Mary-Marie (Babs Winn) who opens a cougar bar, and Clarity (Brenda Braxton), who gives up her fulfilling job as a financial analyst to go to graduate school for Women’s Studies. The three meet and become friends, and Clarity decides to study the cougar phenomenon through Lily and Mary-Marie. Danny Bernardy rounds out the cast playing no fewer than six characters, the main one being Buck, Lily’s love interest.

The tone of the play falls somewhere between satire and social commentary, not landing in either one completely successfully. (This reviewer was reminded of the film Nine to Five—different subject matter, but also with three different types of women dealing with a shared problem. That film, too, suffered from an unclear vision, landing somewhere between slapstick and social commentary. Admittedly, though, it was a huge hit.) Likewise, perhaps because Moore has worked on the songs with no fewer than six composers, the score is uneven, running the gamut from clever to cloying.

The musical is best enjoyed as a series of vignettes, some of which work very well. “Shiny and New” (Moore, Mark Barkan) features the entire cast (Bernardy plays Eve, the beautician) and takes place over a manicure. It is a visual and aural treat, with colorful stage business and truly funny lyrics. “Let’s Talk About Me” (Moore, Amie Gross) is a duet between Buck and Lily as they get to know each other, and we really get to see Lily (aptly named) open up and blossom. “Mother’s Love,” the most moving of the serious songs, offers beautiful harmonies between Mary-Marie and Lily.

It is largely the cast that overcomes the shortcomings in the material. Porter takes what starts out as a stereotypical lonely, middle-aged divorcée and makes her a fully realized woman of some complexity. Winn, as the southern bar owner, brings much warmth and provides many laughs with a characterization that in other hands might have been brash. Braxton has the least flashy role, but she gives it her all—she even makes a song about a sex toy work. Bernardy, however, is the real standout. The one holdover from the cabaret production, he makes every role, large or small, completely different and completely believable. One marvels that it is the same actor playing all of these characters.

Lynne Taylor-Corbett also deserves credit as the director and choreographer. With a very sparsely furnished stage, she has come up with sparkling dance numbers and effective visual use of the lighting and the set’s levels.

Although the songs and book are sometimes cheesy and forced, the evening is never dull. Without an intermission, the energetic ninety-minute show passes quickly. Cougar The Musical has enough frothy fun to possibly keep the tourists happy, ensuring a decent run. For the rest of us, enjoy its merits and try not to think too much.

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About the Author

Kevin Scott Hall performed in cabaret clubs for many years and recorded three CDs, including “New Light Dawning” in 1998, which received national airplay. He also worked at the legendary piano bar, Rose’s Turn, and has taught cabaret workshops and directed shows since 1995. Kevin earned his MFA in Creative Writing at City College of New York. He is an adjunct professor in the Theatre and English departments at City College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. His novel, “Off the Charts!” was published in 2010, and his memoir, “A Quarter Inch from My Heart” (Wisdom Moon), in 2014. Kevin writes a monthly column and entertainment features for Edge Media Network, writes reviews for BistroAwards.com, and freelances for other publications.