Musical revue set in 1940s New York City
PORT TOWNSEND — The guests are arriving as the music plays. Drinks flow at the bar on stage. A little sipping, a little dancing — and then the party morphs into the performance at the Key City Playhouse, where the songs of Cole Porter transport us to a 1940s-style cabaret.
Key City Public Theatre is presenting a revue with quite a title: “The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen through the Eyes of Cole Porter,” June 7 through June 30 at its intimate playhouse, 419 Washington St.
An immersive show, this one is steeped in saucy Porter rarities from the early 20th century, an era when plenty of declining and falling were going on.
It all begins in New York City’s Greenwich Village, setting for a soiree circa 1945. Through the eyes of Porter’s two ladies and two men, we’re part of a tempestuous evening. Starring in the revue are Key City’s resident actress Christa Holbrook, along with guest artists Matthew Alexander, Michael Covert and Selena Tibert.
KCPT artistic apprentice Bry Kifolo, fresh from her performance in Key City’s “Men on Boats,” is at the helm; this is her second stint in the director’s chair after last December’s hit “Every Christmas Story Ever Told.”
Kifolo is mixing a champagne cocktail of a show — “romance, dancing, bragging, high society,” she promises — as the foursome parties downtown. But as Act I comes to a close, this scene is then left behind. After intermission we go with them uptown, to a Park Avenue penthouse. It’s the morning after, and Porter has a new slew of sophisticated songs.
“If you want to have some fun, if you’ve been in a rut, if the news is taking hold of you, this is your chance to let go of all that,” said Kifolo.
When asked which songs she likes best, the director replied: “Oh, I love them all,” but after a beat, she decided the medley at the close of Act I is her favorite.
“It’s a cheeky moment,” is all Kifolo would reveal.
As the Cole Porter revue opens, tickets are available for KCPT’s 2019 season of five more shows. “Men on Boats,” the April production, sold out every performance including two added onto the end of the run, so Winter emphasized that season tickets guarantee seats at every show from here on out.
After the Cole Porter revue comes Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in Port Townsend’s Chetzemoka Park from Aug. 2 through Aug. 25; the Irish love story “Sea Marks” from Oct. 4 through Oct. 19; the world premiere of the comedy “Mercy Falls” from Nov. 29 through Dec. 27, and Port Townsend’s award-winning holiday musical, “Spirit of the Yule,” from Dec. 12 through Dec. 29.
Single tickets to these productions range from $24 to $29, while selected pay-what-you-wish performances are sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission. For the Cole Porter revue, those are on Sunday, June 9, and Thursday, June 13. Theater-goers can arrive at the playhouse 30 minutes before show time to pay what they will for available seats.
The lobby box office also opens one hour before show time for ticket sales at the door; when a performance is sold out online, KCPT makes overflow seating available.
This summer’s musical “is an escape,” said Winter, but it also reminds us of our humanity and our resilience.
“We always need some joy and light,” she added, “so we are focusing on the music.”
Sound Storage, KPTZ radio, Natasha & Archie, and the 66 Women Producers are the Cole Porter revue’s sponsors, joining Key City season sponsors Aldrich’s Market, Alchemy Bistro, Edensaw Woods and Avamere at Port Townsend. The 2019 KCPT season is dedicated to the memory of the theater’s good friend and long-time patron, Dan Huntingford, former owner of SOS Printing.
Photo: Selena Tibert & Michael Covert