EASY STREET PRODUCTIONS Musical about Will Rogers is one audience is sure to like

The show features sets and costumes from the original Broadway version.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Easy Street Productions brought the life and times of humorist Will Rogers to the Powers Auditorium stage Friday with a vibrant and thoroughly entertaining musical production of "The Will Rogers Follies, The Great American Musical."
Rogers was best known for his easy, Oklahoma wit and his good old-fashioned common sense -- not a likely subject for a glitzy Ziegfeld Follies-style Broadway musical. Somehow it works, combining the elaborate stage costumes and sets of the 1920s and 1930s with some thought provoking lyrics.
Easy Street founders Todd Hancock and Maureen Collins were a likable pair in the lead roles as Rogers and his wife Betty Blake, supported by an enthusiastic and talented cast of actors, singers and dancers.
Hancock, who also directed the production, captured the spirit of the popular rope-swinging cowboy-turned-entertainer. His musical rendition of Rogers' most famous statement, "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like," was one of the most memorable songs in the production.
Rope tricks
Hancock had the audience laughing as he performed some simple rope tricks between scenes, joking that Ziegfeld just had him do the rope routine to occupy the crowd "while the girls change from nothin' to nothin'."
Collins was at her best in "My Big Mistake," a song about Blake's decision to marry the popular Rogers and follow him around the country during his days as a Wild West Show entertainer. Her strong, sultry voice was well suited for "Without You," another song about the trials of marriage to a traveling man.
David Jendre, a familiar face in the Easy Street cast for 11 years, was hilarious as Clem Rogers, the humorist's cranky but lovable father. Disappointed that his son chose entertainment instead of taking take over the family ranch, he wisecracked: "I wouldn't be a good father if I didn't make it as difficult as possible."
Shannon Pemberton was a glamorous new addition to the Players theater troupe as Ziegfeld's Favorite, returning after a five-year absence to play the humorous part as the Follies producer's chosen dancer.
Youngsters
Four youngsters who played the Rogers' children also deserve mention. Not just cute, Patrick Barrett, Katy Collins, Mickey Collins and Rosie Jo Neddy put on a performance as professional as their adult counterparts.
The extravagant sets and backdrops and lavish costumes, all from the original Broadway production, are worth seeing. Most of the dance numbers are performed on a wide staircase that covers most of the stage, but the choreography by Renee Rogers showed the beautifully-garbed dancers at their best.
"Madcap Mutts," a dog act that was featured in the original Broadway version, is another highlight of the Easy Street show. Two more performances of "Will Rogers Follies" are scheduled this weekend, one at 8 p.m. tonight and the other, a matinee at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
vinarsky@vindy.com