Music, glitz fail to rescue cliched 'Cabana'

"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl

With yellow feathers in her hair, and a dress cut down to there"

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Special to the Advertiser

•	'Copacabana' Manoa Valley Theatre 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday; through April 4 Through March 28: $30 — $15 Extended March 31-April 4: all tickets $35. 988-6131

Manilow collaborated with Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman to turn his popular recording into a theater piece, but like square pegs and round holes, some things just don't fit.

The production scrapes together a collection of old clichés that aren't expected to look fresh, just spunky and nostalgic.

There's a struggling songwriter, an innocent girl from the Midwest hoping for show-business success, a gangster, a fiery Latin bombshell, a tough producer and a wisecracking cigarette girl.

If all the performances clicked and the staging were splashy enough, we might overlook the material. Sadly, that does not happen.

One suspects that director and choreographer John Rampage knew what he wanted, but just couldn't make it happen.

Elitei Tatafu Jr. is a good fit as male lead — a songwriter searching for the right lyrics who imagines a flashback story while waiting for his wife to get dressed. He's a good singer and dancer, and has the tone to recreate an innocent 1940s character, with the moves to make him a cartoon with a heart.

Zenia Zambrano sings and acts well as Lola, but lacks the showgirl physique, while her costumes grow increasingly scanty.

Her big dance number with the Copa Girls has energy, but little other appeal. Worse, it segues into an Act One finale that makes you want to flee at intermission.

"Bolero D'Amore" is the abduction number, wherein Gene DeFrancis as the mobster drugs Lola and carries her off to Havana. It is memorable only for DeFrancis' moaning through the lyrics as he hefts Zambrano over his shoulder.

Act Two offers some good supporting performances. Scott Moura does an excellent Tim Conway imitation as the cowardly night club manager, Suzanne Green is good as the cigarette girl, and Nicole Marie Sullivan is an audience favorite in the Carmen Miranda part.

Costumes by Athena Espania are colorful and lavish, awash in feathers, ruffles and sequins.

Don Ranney's bandstand set elevates the orchestra behind the playing area, and Mark Minasian gets big sound from six musicians.

But while music and passion are always in fashion, in "Copacabana" they are too often upstaged by imperfectly realized characters and clichés run amok.