The audience was told before the opening night of Cole Porter’s “Red, Hot and Blue!” that the mission of By George Productions is “to preserve and present lost musicals” with as much historical accuracy as possible. My anticipation subsequently sank a little, but quickly renewed at a chance to write, “It’s no wonder it’s a lost musical; it should have stayed lost.”
But as the tinkle of piano and syncopated swaggering of percussion filled the intimate 99-seat Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, an old-fashioned charm started in ““ and I had a feeling I’d have to find another way to fit that phrase in.
Set in New York City and Washington, D.C., the madcap story surrounds a national lottery devised by wealthy widow and former manicurist “Nails” O’Reilly Duquesne (Allyson Turner) to find the childhood love of Bob Hale (Kyle Nudo), her lawyer and the man she is in love with.
Along the way, ex-con “Policy” Pinkle (the hilarious crowd-pleaser Richard Horvitz), who’d rather go back to the good life behind bars offers assistance and raucous comedic hijinks.
“Red, Hot and Blue!” was Cole Porter’s 1936 follow-up to the classic “Anything Goes,” which is currently running at the Macgowan Little Theater.
Like its predecessor, it includes the catchy “It’s De-Lovely” and was written and first performed during the Great Depression.