Off-Broadway Review: SMILE (J2 Spotlight at AMT Theater)

GRINS, GOWNS, AND GRIT:
A WINNING SMILE SASHAYS BACK ONSTAGE

In the year 1919, the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway featured an ode to female finery as a bevy of beauties graced the stage to the strains of the Irving Berlin song “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody.” The next year, Congress ratified an amendment giving women the right to vote. The year after that, pretty girls from each state competed for votes of judges in the first Miss America Pageant. The winner was 16 years old. Later, various competitions came along, restricted to teenagers, such as the Miss Teen USA contest, begun in 1983. Three years later, a Broadway musical about a fictional counterpart debuted. Based on the eponymous 1975 satirical comedy film written by Jerry Belson, it was called Smile, with melodies by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics and book by Howard Ashman. The J2 Spotlight Theater Company’s current revival, running through April 20, puts its spin on the saga of the crown-seekers – winners in their local California cities – hoping to win the next round. J2’s production comes out a real winner itself.

The show has an interesting history. Lyricist Carolyn Leigh was at work on Smile, with music by Hamlisch, but her death after considerable work was done put the project on hold. A whole new set of songs was whipped up when the composer started over with Ashman (who was post-Little Shop of Horrors and pre-Beauty and the Beast), and was somewhat revised for later productions. (Intriguingly, the shelved score will be brought back by this valued company in a companion cabaret-style evening at the same theater for one night only on Tuesday, April 15.)

Capturing youthful wishes and worries, the requisite elements all are on display: an audience-pleasing parade of pretty posing, perkiness, prancing, pressures, passions, plastic personalities, pep, panic, peevishness, positivity, pastiche, parasols, and production numbers. Kudos to choreographer Caitlin Belcik for the crisp, precise, and delightful dancing designs.

On opening night, things were quite smooth and full of vim, although (at least as heard from the last row of the smallish AMT Theater), it was sometimes difficult to catch all the words spoken or sung by the softer-voiced female ensemble members and some smaller moments in the storyline might zoom by if one isn’t extra-watchful. But it’s all very much worth watching and catching and cheering.

And while a pretty girl may well be like a melody, the melodies are pretty wonderful and the lyrics and book are sharp in simulating and decimating the not-always-pretty world of such events. There are several diegetic, cheer-infused, highly choreographed scenes wherein the girls are rehearsing or performing their drilled, directed-to-the-audience pieces: canny concoctions that clone the kind of cloying cotton-candy fare that you’d expect to hear in a pageant or tacky TV variety show special, with added wit to balance intended vapidness or sugar overdose.

These include the title song and its musical cousins that talk about shining, praise for being “Young and American,” and a tribute to the epitome of a wholesome “Typical High School Senior.” After finalists are announced, the also-rans sing through forced smiles “We Wish We Were You.” And then there’s the oily host’s added adulation, with Kristopher Antekeier channeling just the right flair and fuss, crooning the corny, praise-piling “There Goes the Girl.” It aptly apes the iconic anointing theme “There She Is: Miss America,” which shares some DNA with the aforementioned Ziegfeld Follies anthem. Ensemble plot songs reveal anxiety and/or anticipation, exposing exhaustion and raw “Nerves” and having to wait “Until Tomorrow Night.”

The score’s standout number, the poignant “Disneyland,” describes one single-minded contestant’s clinging to her image of the place she idealizes. It is performed movingly by the engaging Sophia Stromberg as Doria. She engenders audience sympathy, as does Bridget Delaney, an actress possessed of a particularly sweet-toned timbre and disarming vulnerability as Doria’s non-confident confidante and instant friend when they’re assigned as roommates during the days of preparations that pageant coordinator Brenda promises the group will be “The Best Week of Your Life.” In this “den mother” role that’s all about control, gritted teeth, and passive-aggressive spice, Lauren Weinberg excels in big and small moments as Brenda. There’s palpable tension in scenes with her husband, the splendidly sturdy Christopher deProphetis, the kinder and gentler spouse who espouses true altruistic life goals, powerfully presented in “Bob’s Song,” a potent contrast to the self-involved other folks.

But Brenda is laser-focused on her high expectations for herself and others, with her patience getting tested as she gets testy. Note her semi-veiled, calibrated condescension when she uses the word “dear” to address a girl who’s disappointing her and how she injects faux enthusiasm into other lines. Not all characters in Smile smile a lot; Peter Kendall is marvelously on target (and a hoot) as the jaded, eye-rolling, sighing choreographer less than thrilled to have the assignment, going through the motions with his eager charges. Also garnering giggles or even guffaws is bubbly Beatriz Coronel as Maria, the contestant  who cooks food for the judges and for her talent segment, peppering her lines with a heavy Spanish accent and high energy. But on the menu served up by others are jealousy, prejudice, and trouble.

Yes, the revival is radiant, but J2 Spotlight also aims its spotlight on the darker side of the desperation and drive that lurk behind the smiles the contestants and handlers present in Smile. Happily, the action is infused with lots of true humor (satirical and sweet) that – thanks to the attention to detail and nuance provided by savvy director Robert W. Schneider — are so numerously nailed that an audience’s own smile muscles will ache from use.

photos by Russ Rowland

Smile
J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company
AMT Theater, 354 W. 45th St
ends on April 20, 2025
for tickets, visit J2 Spotlight