Spoiler-Filled Review of "Wonderful Town"

Seeing this show was some of the most pure fun I've had on Broadway. The plot, a bit implausible (one of the people I saw the show with called it "corny, but fun"). It is truly an old-time, feel-good Broadway show.

The lead, Donna Murphy as Rush Sherwood, was exciting. Quirky, funny, playing up her character's 'can't get a man, but don't need a man' issues, she showed off her personality through voice, fast-talking, business outfits, gangly leg movements, other quirky body movements, and killer heels to hide the fact that she is shorter than most of her co-stars: all this helps distract from her own beauty, leaving open the possibility of numerous jokes of how she compares unfavorably with her sister Eileen.

Eileen Sherwood, played by Jennifer Westfeldt of the title role in Kissing Jessica Stein, was perfect as the innocent who is 'built' and who attracts the attention (of the wanted and unwanted variety) of every man who wanders by.

The sets were impressive, made of scrim fabric so so as to indicate walls while still showing the street behind them. The lighting was fantastic; indicating the passage of time and the different settings with great skill.

The dancing was so much fun to watch...and this is coming from a girl who, despite my theatre background, usually feels that a show wouldn't miss much by having all dances cut out. Not this show. The dancing enhanced the show in exciting ways, from the opening number where it really demonstrated what Christopher Street (where much of the show takes place) was really like, to the last dance of Act I, which moved the plot along (in ways I'll describe later) to Irish Police Officers dancing with moves deliberately inspired by Riverdance.

And the music: memorable, sharp, toe-tapping and wonderfully executed...Far too few shows on Broadway have music this good. Although, I should mention that they are old-style Broadway tunes: if you are not able to appreciate that type of music, you probably won't enjoy this. As for me? I'm getting the soundtrack as soon as I can get to the mall.

I'm serious: major spoilers ahead. I am detailing several major scenes and the ending.

The show opens with an amusing look at Christopher Street in New York City, where most of the show takes place, through the eyes of a startled tour group at the many varied bohemian types including

• Poets,


• Actors,


• Other Artists,


• Mr. and Mrs. Loomis: better known as Wreck and Helen, who aren't married, but are very happy,


• Violet, a prostitute who is quickly evicted from her basement apartment,


• Officer Lonigan, who is strict about inappropriate behavior and helps with the eviction,


• Appopolous, landlord of Wreck and Helen, and of the basement apartment,


• Speedy Valenti, owner of the The Village Vortex,

Soon, the Sherwood sisters, fresh off the bus from Ohio, enter the scene. Appopolous gets them to rent the basement apartment, before they have a chance to see all of its...peculiarities. As they get ready for bed, a strange man comes in looking for Violet ("Marty sent me"). Eileen runs for help and meets Wreck, a pro football player in the off season who is more than happy to chase off a creep for her.

The sisters go to sleep, homesick for Ohio, but ready to take on New York: Eileen as an actress, Ruth as a writer. The first day is spectacularly unsuccessful: Eileen gets a part but finds out it involves a session on the casting couch, Ruth can't even get an interview.

Days later, Ruth decides to take matters into her own hands and meets an associate editor, Robert Baker, a man of ruined potential, and convinces him to read her stories, shown to the audience as completely over-the-top.

After reading her stories, he goes to her house, but meets Eileen instead: she falls instantly in love with him and, in the space of three sentences, goes from calling him Mr. Baker, then Robert, then Bob. She insists he comes to dinner, forgetting that she has two suitors of her own.

The dinner is, predictably, a disaster. Eileen's earnest suitor, Frank, from Walgreens, is hopelessly outclassed by her other suitor Chick Clark, a newspaperman promising a chance at a job for Ruth, but really just hoping to get into Eileen's pants. Frank leaves after spilling wine on himself, Bob leaves after getting in a fight with Ruth (he thinks her stories demonstrate repression and think they would be better if she wrote what she knew), leaving the women alone with Mr. Clark. He then sends Ruth off on a wild goose chase. As soon as Eileen discovers this, she throws him out.

Then, my favorite scenes happen. Ruth finds the story, Portuguese sailors: unfortunately, they know no English except for "Conga". They follow her home to Christopher street, Conga-ing all the way. The first act ended with the entire cast doing the Conga. Eileen inadvertantly hits Officer Lonigan when she tries to smack a man who pinched her. The last image of the first act consists of Eileen getting hauled off to jail (literally, thrown over Officer Lonigan's shoulder) and Ruth on the shoulders of the Conga-dancing sailors.

So, we open up the second act with Wreck and Helen going into jail with a freshly ironed dress and asking to see Miss Sherwood. The brusque desk sergeant tells them that this is a prison, not a hotel, but asks them who they want to see. When they specify that it is Eileen Sherwood, his demeanor entirely changes and he calls "Eileen, dear, someone to see you". She walks right out and asks the sergeant to hang it up in her cell for her. He eagerly complies.

I don't think I can properly describe the intense funniness of this scene, with all of the officers of the station behaving as butlers toward Eileen (telling her who has 'come to call', giving her phone messages, telling unwanted callers that 'she is not here to you') and her unrealizing of how tightly she has them all wrapped around her finger.

The ending, of course, is happy (and predictable). Eileen's noteriety as the "Blonde Bombshell [who] Caused an International Incident" gives her the needed publicity for Speedy Valenti's to give her a chance in his club. Wreck and Helen discover that she is pregnant and so decide to get quickly married. Bob loses his job by trying to press his boss to accept Ruth's story about the Portugese sailors. A heart-to-heart between the sisters shows Eileen that Ruth is in love with Bob (and Eileen instantly and selflessly releases her own claim on him). A heart-to-heart between Eileen and Bob quickly reveals to Bob that the reason he lost his job is not purely a matter of principle: he is in love with Ruth. Ruth gets a job at Mr. Clark's newspaper (yes, the jerk came through when he submitted the article and his boss loved it).

The last few moments of the show have Eileen singing in the nightclub to an appreciative audience with Bob and Ruth kissing in the back row.