By Six talented performers danced their way into the hearts of many in the musical “Backwards in High Heels,” a biography about Ginger Rogers.
The performance took place at the International City Theater in Long Beach on Friday.
Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern, who conceived and developed the new musical, successfully pinpointed Rogers’ stepping stones in her career and personal life.
Shashin Desai, producer at the theater, welcomed the audience prior to the start of the show, explaining that “Backwards in High Heels” will begin the theater’s 25th anniversary celebration, he said.
The musical opened with Rogers, played by Anna Aimee White, narrating in the dark that a girl must have three virtues to get by: intelligence, adaptability and talent. Shortly after, the lights shone on her as she spun and danced to the front of the stage shouting, “I’m here!”
From there, White, along with the five other actors, whisked the audience away to glitz and glamour during the Great Depression.
The show introduced Missouri-born Rogers as an ambitious 14-year-old who won her first dance competition in Texas. This took her on her way to stardom via western U.S. tour.
The journey on stage highlighted crucial moments in her younger years: her five marriages and divorces to different men starting when she was 17, her first lead role on Broadway in George and Ira Gershwin’s “Girl Crazy” and her business relationships with Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn and the like. Christopher Carothers, Jeff Payton and Robin De Lano were the actors who portrayed her husbands and fellow movie stars.
Of course, the show would not be complete without her relationship with longtime dance partner Fred Astaire, played by Matt Bauer. The two shared enough chemistry in the musical to steal the audience’s hearts. Every dance step was almost hypnotizing and left the crowd wanting more after each musical number.
The dance couple seemed to have only a short time together on stage, when in reality Rogers and Astaire spent several years making movies together before the actress went solo.
The show concluded once Rogers took on her solo career and won an Academy Award for Best Actress in the film “Kitty Foyle,” in which she played an unmarried pregnant woman.
The sets stayed simple during the production. In the beginning, silky beige drapes and an elegant chandelier hung in the background. As the show progressed, various movie posters replaced the chandelier, and a long white window hovered behind the drapes.
The lighting changed with every scene based on moods. Dim lights would portray either romance or arguments, casting darker shadows on the actors as they shared intimacy or harsh words.
The vintage costumes stood out in an array of colors worn in glitter, feathers, velvet and silk, all reminiscent of the glamorous life in the early 1900s. Rogers’ standout outfits in the musical included a rose pink dress covered in glitter, a deep green velvet robe and her classic feathered white dress worn when she danced for the first time with Astaire.
The songs were brilliant and catchy. Familiar tunes such as “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” had the audience singing, humming and tapping their feet to the tunes. New ones that will surely stick in the future include “Tame These Feet,” about Rogers’ longing to make a career out of her talent and White’s powerful solo “But…When?” which is about the dancer’s desire for bigger things beyond the contract with Astaire.
However, the choreography was the most impressive element in the musical. Thanks to choreographer Melissa Giattino, White danced effortlessly during each song, along with the other actors who were just as talented in their fancy footwork.
The musical proved that dance was not the only major part of Rogers’s life, but her overprotective mom, Lela, played by Heather Lee, was constantly by her side to make sure that Rogers had a successful career. These two constants encompassed the entire show.
The musical also served as an emotional rollercoaster. When excitement and joy lit up White’s face every time she danced, the audience was excited for her. When her character went through frequent marriage and family troubles, the audience groaned and sometimes laughed if the scenes were meant to be comical.
Perhaps the crucial message in the musical was Rogers’ hope to change how women were financially treated in the film industry.
Although she had huge roles in movies, men with smaller roles were still paid more. With her influence in the film industry, Rogers eventually helped change that.
Overall, “Backwards in High Heels” will surely dazzle, inform and take people back in time to the icon’s exciting road to fame.
Performances take place Thursdays through Sundays until March 21. To purchase tickets, call the box office at 562-436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.
