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Legend of the Gypsy Bride

nytheatre.com review by Jonathan Calindas
August 15, 2005

As the audience walks into the spacious Mazer theatre, they are greeted with the sight of the cluttered Gypsy camp “under a highway in Queens.” Bottles and milk crates lie about, and a clothesline full of colorful rags serves as the backdrop. This sense of clutter, unfortunately, permeates every facet of this production of The Legend of the Gypsy Bride, from the performances to the writing and directing.The Legend of the Gypsy Bride tells the story of a band of Gypsies living a destitute life in their camp. When a writer of computer manuals (David Jenness) appears on the scene looking for a Hollywood story, the gypsies, with dreams of stardom, led by the slimy Marko (Joey Gay) and his associate Shadow (Raven Solano), act out the story of the Gypsy Bride. Zazu (Nedra McClyde) is to be married to a wealthy American entrepreneur, Wynn Dwyer (Curtis J. Bisek), but their plans are complicated by The Albanian (Keith Malley), a storeowner who hates the Gypsies (he claims they steal from him) but has a thing for Zazu.The musical is one that seems to have many elements in its favor: a by-the-book set of true musical theatre numbers (lyrics by David Jenness, music by “The Roma of Hungary and Transylvania”); Gypsy choreography by Andrea Kalan, Chemda, and Aron Szekely; and a band of talented musicians (Jesse Kotansky, Franca Vercelloni, George Kalan, Tom Cirillo, Gerald Gates, and David Jenness) who double as minor characters in the show. However, the book of the show (also by Jenness), though filled with witty lines, betrays the score. It is very confusing as to what is part of the Gypsies’ story and what is happening for real. The Albanian (the archetypal villain) does not really provide much of a conflict, and the plot seems arbitrary and fails to make much sense. This sense of confusion is not helped by the muddled direction (by Koby Benvenesti) on a cluttered stage where bottles and other items keep getting knocked over and have to be moved out of the way for safety. The musical numbers and choreography fall flat, and the funny lines fail to elicit laughter. Nevertheless, the cast does their best. They deliver their performances with vigor but achieve varying degrees of success. LinDel Sandlin and Raven Solano, playing a textbook bickering married couple provide the comic relief and do so with vaudevillian panache. Judith Jones as Zazu’s sister, Paprika, makes the best of her smaller role. However, Nedra McClyde sadly does not have the presence to make the lead character of Zazu work and her two torch songs fail to get the audience to root for her. She also speaks with an urban American accent even though her lines are clearly written for someone with an Eastern European accent.I had the sense that under other circumstances, come of the components of The Legend of the Gypsy Bride could be made to work. There is a real sense of camaraderie and determination among this company, not unlike the spirit of the Gypsies that they play.