“Car Stars” taps into Detroit’s storied past with song and story
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – It’s tough to say at this point whether Car Stars, a new musical presentation making its world premiere at The Berman here, will have legs beyond the Motor City area. But if you like the culture of auto manufacturing lines and the history of Detroit and auto shows, this show has something for the patron who has a shelf full of auto books, a car they keep under a cover in the garage and a soft spot for the smell of exhaust and a growly roar of an engine.
The first thing to understand about Car Stars is that it is really two one-act plays connected only by the theme of cars and the common cast. The first act is titled, Factory, and it is a one-hour skate through the history of the auto industry in Detroit, with original music and multi-media images, from the time of Henry Ford’s $5 a day factory at Highland Park, Michigan to the shuttering of the Oldsmobile and Pontiac divisions at GM. Factory features a narrator, Fred (Henri Franklin) who takes us through the decades of Detroit dominance, through the interloping of Japanese car companies and then finally government bailout on 2009.
Henri was a life-long line worker, and, in fact, comes to life out of a replica of Diego Rivera’s “Industry” fresco at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The narration scheme, with scenes through the decades acted and sung, has the feeling of a show that might be put on at Greenfield Village or at The Henry Ford.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But expectations should be in line. Writer/producer Janet Torreano Pound and Director David Regal have cast the show extremely well. In lesser hands and with lesser voices, the light material could easily have evaporated. Allison Boufford, Karen Kron, Lisa Michaels, Katie Kujala and John DeMerrell all lend superior voices to the original songs, which can be a bit hit and miss.
Act Two, titled Auto Show, which is what is what Ms. Pound apparently started out with as her show before she crafted the Act 1 piece, is taken from her previous life as an auto show show-stand narrator. This story actually has an arc and narrative, and, again, the original music is written by Pound. A middle-aged actress/model, Bridget (Boufford) has been let into the “show life” as a token after the show was getting nasty letters and comments about only employing young “bimbos.” She becomes the genuine object of affection of Johnny T (Peter Tocco), the show “dog” who rattles off paragraphs about turbo charging and double overhead cams and has bedded most of the “Show Beeches,” (the actual title of one of the songs) on the circuit.
Meanwhile, Regge, (Henri Franklin) an African-American detail man responsible for making the show cars sparkle and making sure no fingerprints linger under the bright lights of the show, wants to graduate to “narrator” at the show stand. There is implied racism in the story-line, with show manager Delvina (Karen Kron) keeping Regge down to a level below the rest. Mackenzie McIlroy as Holly, one of the “Show Beeches” is a senior at Oakland University, and displays nice comedic timing and strong vocals. Boufford’s bio says she has been on a long hiatus from acting. Welcome back. Boufford has excellent stage presence and strong vocals.
There are some good tunes in the show. “Pigtailed Girl,” in Factory sung by Michaels and DeMerrell stand out, as does a fun cast number in Auto Show performed by the ensemble, which is very strong, featuring Sidi Henderson, Daniel Jeffries and Chevonne Wilson. Music director Steve Kosinsky does a solid job of bringing the new songs to life.
As with any brand new show, especially a musical, Car Stars can stand some nipping, tucking, revisions and refinement. There are places, especially in Act 2, where the energy of the show falls into second gear. And some of Fred’s narration in “Industry,” could be restyled, as some of it just didn’t seem to be what would come out of the mouth of an old salt of the assembly line.
The show has a lot of promise. It succeeds in having fun on stage, and that enjoyment carried over to the audience, several of whom appeared to have driven their GM, Ford and Chrysler vehicles to the show by a quick scan of the parking lot.