Choreography by Jeffry Denman; Music supervision and orchestrations by Greg Jarrett; Music Direction by Nicholas Connors; Scenic Design by Alexander Dodge; Costume Design by Tracy Christensen; Lighting Design by Richard Latta; Sound Design by Haley Parcher; and wig, hair, and makeup design by Roxanne De Luna.
By Mike Hoban
The Ogunquit Playhouse once again makes a sparkling case for being New England’s premier summer theater with a bubbly, champagne-fueled re-imagining of the 1956 film, High Society. Powered by a Cole Porter score, Broadway performers (including multiple Tony Award nominees), and a terrific supporting cast, High Society is the very essence of summer theater – a rollicking good time that delivers a ton of laughs along with its superbly executed song-and-dance numbers.
Based on the screwball comedy play and 1940 film The Philadelphia Story, both of which starred Katherine Hepburn, High Society centers on the haughty and beautiful socialite Tracy Lord (multiple Tony nominee Robyn Hurder) on the eve of her wedding to George, a former miner who is now an executive for Tracy’s father’s coal mining enterprise. Enter ex-husband and next-door neighbor CK Dexter Haven (Broadway performer and Ogunquit favorite Max Clayton), a jazz singer whose career choice never quite measured up to Tracy’s lofty standards, who still carries a torch for her.
He’s not alone, however. He’s brought along reporter Mike Connors (Tony nominee Andrew Durand) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Sydney Morton) from the National Enquirer-esque tabloid Spy Magazine to do a story on the high society wedding. While old-money families like the Lords would be appalled at the very notion of a low-class publication like Spy invading their gilded world, Tracy has essentially been blackmailed into agreeing: If she says no, Spy will run a story about her father’s affair with a showgirl, so she reluctantly agrees. There are multiple subplots, with the most prominent being the twist that not only are George and Dexter in love with Tracy, but Mike, the reporter, also falls for her, and she may also have fallen for him.
Fans of The Philadelphia Story (listed at #51 on the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 films of the first 100 years), starring Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, might find the book for High Society to be a little thin and character development to be nearly nonexistent, but remember, this is a musical, and the plot essentially serves as a serving tray for the sumptuous Cole Porter score and Jeffry Denman’s dazzling choreography. Hurder may not convey the sophistication of Hepburn or Grace Kelly (who played Tracy in the High Society movie alongside Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and was actually raised as a one-percenter in Philadelphia), but honestly, who could? Maine native Hurder adroitly juggles her suitors with a mixture of contempt (for George and Dexter) and fascination (with Mike), and she’s a talented vocalist and an even better hoofer. Her (and the rest of the first-rate cast’s) prodigious talent explodes during the dynamite Act I closer, “Let’s Misbehave.”
Clayton returns to the Ogunquit stage following star turns in last year’s Crazy for You and 2023’s Singin’ in the Rain, and although his role is a little underdeveloped (as is Connors’ Mike), he does what he does best – lead the company in the outstanding tap numbers and croon. He’s at his best in the duets with Hurder, “True Love” and “After You, Who?”, and the drunken comic duet with Connors, “Well, Did You Evah?”
High Society is loaded with comic moments, the bulk of which are supplied by Tracy’s precocious tween sister Dinah Lord (Charlotte Van Ledtje) and Tracy’s Uncle Willie (Bryan Blatt). The set design by Alexander Dodge lends authenticity to the upscale digs of the Lord family, and Tracy Christensen’s costumes faithfully capture the era.
If you’ve never made the journey to the Ogunquit Playhouse, with abundant restaurants within a 10-minute walk, give it a try. This is a Broadway-level production without the hassle of traveling to New York. See it. For more information and tickets, go to: ogunquitplayhouse.org
