'Honeymoon in Vegas' on Broadway

It has a very slight plot. Jack is a mama’s boy who finally gets enough backbone to defy his bossy mother (Nancy Opel) and propose to his girlfriend Betsy (Brynn O’Malley). He takes her to Las Vegas, where a wise guy gambler (Tony Danza) falls for Betsy and arranges for Jack to lose big in a poker game so he can claim the bride-to-be as his own.

Danza’s name appears above the title, but he really is a supporting actor, though he does a nice job of tap-dancing as he goes through the paces of his shallow role. McClure, who’s downstage in virtually every scene, is the star. He is touching and funny and charming. The effervescent actor has appeared in Philly at the Arden and at the Walnut Street Theatre, notably as Mozart in Amadeus, and in New York as the title characters in Where’s Charley? for Encores and Chaplin on Broadway.

Cheesy and unappealing

The show features intentionally cheesy nightclub entertainment and a bunch of unappealing Vegas stereotypes. For no logical reason, there’s a detour to Hawaii, where we encounter a repulsively formulaic Hawaiian girl. Because the movie on which the show is based is best known for the skydiving Elvises, it has to recreate that climactic moment, but it looks like a cheap knockoff.

The time frame is supposed to be the 1960s when Sinatra and his Rat Pack ruled, and I fondly remember being in Las Vegas during that decade. This stage version is much coarser than anything I saw then; it does not work as a tribute, nor does it attempt to treat the era satirically. A big onstage band is pleasant to hear but does not accurately capture the flavor of those days. The score by Jason Robert Brown is below his usual standard.

Honeymoon in Vegas is closing on Sunday, April 5, making it the fourth successive flop for gifted songwriter Brown. He’s become the Nicolas Cage of Broadway composers.

So McClure will return home to Philly but is sure to be nominated for a leading-man Tony. He deserves to win it.