Book: Linda Bloodworth Thomason; Score: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. At: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Tickets: 800-775-2000 or www.broadwayinchicago.com; $33-$100. Runs through March 29
The producers behind the Broadway-aimed musical First Wives Club are certainly tenacious. After a 2009 San Diego tryout of the show faltered, First Wives Club was heavily revamped for its current Chicago run with a new book by Designing Women sitcom writer Linda Bloodworth Thomason ( adapted from Rupert Holmes' previous version ), plus new direction by Simon Philips ( Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ).
Alas, these changes haven't quite resulted in making First Wives Club a Broadway-ready property. And that's despite a very charismatic cast who do a very skillful job of delivering a hearty quotient of zinging one-liners and visual gags for a production that unashamedly aims to be over-the-top.
But then again, the sources for First Wives Club aren't exactly high art. The catty 1996 Paramount film and Olivia Goldsmith's original 1992 novel largely served as rah-rah fantasy empowerment tropes for three middle-aged women done wrong by cheating husbands and reunited following the suicide of their friend, Cynthia Swann ( Michelle Duffy ).
The musical version sticks a little too closely to the film, and it's problematic because so many plot strands leave many of the supporting characters either as underdeveloped ( particularly the ex-husbands played by SeÃˇn Murphy Cullen, Gregg Edelman and Mike McGowan ) or as crass cartoon types ( practically all the mistresses played by Morgan Weed, Alison Woods and Lindsay Alley ). One of the show's reconciliatory endings doesn't feel at all motivationally earned, nor does the infamous slap-happy cat fight among the leading ladies.
The new songs by the Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland often don't go deep enough to explore the characters' dilemmas. They also stylistically sound like poor cousins to their pre-existing hits like "Reach Out" or "Forever Came Today" that are featured in the show via flashbacks to the 1960s.
On the plus side, the show's leading ladies are a charismatic comic trio who often rise above the material they've been givena testament to the amazing performing skills of Faith Prince as the sarcastic Brenda Cushman, Carmen Cusack as the always-apologizing Annie Walker and Christine Sherrill as the vain pop star/actress Elise Acton. These three co-stars have a great rapport with each other and they inject some well-needed tenderness to the brash proceedings.
But if all you want First Wives Club to be is a high-camp fest, there are plenty of satisfying flourishes in store, like the often-outrageous sets and costumes designed by Gabriela Tysesova. Many of the supporting performances are also unabashedly over-exaggerated, particularly that of Patrick Richwood as Brenda's stereotypical gay hairdresser friend, Duane Fergusson.
So though it's far from perfect, First Wives Club should satisfy some audiences for its high-camp comedy quotient. Just don't go in expecting too much honesty or depth.