The Off-Broadway Theatre Review: CSC’s I Can Get It For You Wholesale

By Ross

That young boy, running and dancing around that Classic Stage Company theatre floor, flinging fabric in exchange for coins has everything one would want in a musical theatre hero, and we instantly feel for him, and his pain when some guy, “always bigger,” pushes him to the ground in a jarring antisemitic assault after taking his money while lobbing a slur right at him. We take in his pain and frustration, especially when, after, his mother, played to utter perfection by the always magnificent Judy Kuhn (CSC’s Assassins; Broadway’s Fun Home), sings the sweetest of care-taking songs, begging him to “chew a little something” for her. It’s the kindest of engagements. One that enters our collective hearts and stays with us, even as we watch the show, and him, turn so utterly dark.

Well, that was Harry Bogan, then, and he had us totally on his side cheering him on simply because of that first, well-executed, scene. Now, well, the theatrical now being 1937 New York City, as adult-played by Santino Fontana (LCT’s One Act; Broadway’s Tootsie), he’s a different kind of man. At first, we think of him as driven and ambitious, something that we can also get behind, but as the revival of 1962’s I Can Get It For You Wholesale rises forth most dynamically, we see another side of Harry, one that makes him and this musical a different kind of breed than I realized walking in. I had no idea that it was such a dark horse kinda of a show, and as unspooled meticulously well by director Trip Cullman (Broadway/2ST’s Lobby Hero), the anti-hero status of Bronx-born Harry stitches himself well into our psyche, giving us enough connection to make us struggle with our ongoing care, while also cringing when he deceives. And he does that often, and with such cleverness, we feel, since he buddies up to us so directly, a little guilty as well for all of his transgressions.

When this dark horse of a musical first opened on Broadway in 1962, it had a fairly solid run (300 performances) but failed to garner the same enthusiasm that another show that opened that same season did (beyond what it did for a certain star-making turn of one Funny Girl). Five months earlier, to be precise, and that show, another dark anti-hero horse by the name of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying had what was referred to as a more “cuddly betrayer” in the likes of J. Pierrepont Finch. Theatre historian Ken Mandelbaum noted that “audiences were less willing to confront Wholesale‘s unflinching portrayal of Harry’s little world of men and ulcers on parade.” Finch was more for them, and Harry, well, not so much.

I guess it’s a bit understandable – one anti-hero musical at a time – but it’s one of those sad theatre stories that casts a unfortunate shadow on the musical’s true cleverness. Yet, with this production and John Weidman, the book writer of Assassins, on the job, revising his father’s work for this Classic Stage Company production, the edges and the ending have solidified into something darker yet more direct and engaging. We hear more from Harry, through his inner dialogue monologues spoken directly to us, sometimes asking us to forgive him for the terrible thing he’s about to do, basically trying to get us to stay with him as his lies and scheming get more and more profitable for him, and more uncomfortable for us to watch. Until we can no longer, but that takes a bit of time, and, that’s basically because of the show’s now strong structuring and Fontana’s detailed delivery. Our turn happens much later than we expect, making us feel even more complicit to his so-called crimes as we watch it all seemingly unravel, bringing down one truly lovely trusting character, and hurting numerous others along the way.

In the part of Harry, originated back in the day by Elliot Gould, Fontana works his superb magic, casting illusions that we buy into with all the charm in the world (displaying that glorious voice of his every chance he can get). He’s devilish, pretty much from the beginning, throwing his Union brothers under the bus right off the bat in his first adult move up the ladder. We watch him climb, becoming more and more successful, and buying his loving mother a shower of expensive gifts, too soon and too fast for us not to question how he is doing all that. He conquers the 1930s garment trade, one step at a time, but Harry’s climb seems to be always on the backs of others. It initially feels enterprising, but quickly shifts to something more dirty and troubling. Especially when it comes to netting some much-needed capital from a childhood sweetheart by the name of Ruthie, played gorgeously by Rebecca Naomi Jones (Broadway’s Oklahoma!). Their “Gemini meets Capricorn” number is delightfully playful and endearing, even as we unconsciously underscore the sweet serenade with the bitter smooth-talking schemer vibe. You better watch your back (and pocketbook) Ruthie, or else you might have a fall ahead of you. Just listen to his Mama, OK?

Harry follows that sad desperate stain with another sweet-talking con of a dinner, courtesy of Mama’s fine cooking (and a spectacular subtle performance). We watch as he bluffs and convinces two other guys to go into business with him, while scheming his way around corners to get his share of the down payment. He keeps talking to us, entwining us, trying to explain and ask our forgiveness, and even when he starts losing us, Fontana still finds a way to keep us completely tuned in. When he leaves the sweet Ruthie standing there with a plate she put together for him to basically sing a strong duet about the love and sound of money with a showgirl, it sits heavy in our hearts. Portrayed regally by Joy Woods (Off-Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors) as that other woman, actress Martha Mills, who values money almost as highly as Harry, we can’t help but think that our anti-hero and this glamour girl are an equal match “as dollars meet in sweet surrender.”

As played out on that simplistic, yet overly cluttered stage, courtesy of Mark Wendland (PH’s Unknown Soldier), with strong detailed costuming by Ann Hould-Ward (CSC’s The Cradle Will Rock), straightforward clear lighting by Adam Honoré (CSC’s Carmen Jones), and a solid sound design by Sun Hee Kil (CSC’s A Man of No Importance),  I Can Get It for You Wholesale sings beautifully through the darkness, even if all those tables and chairs keep getting in the way of letting these truly fascinating characters fully spread out. It rarely feels necessary, all those items crowding the stage, even when the staging makes strong use of the haphazard placements of it all. The choreography by Ellenore Scott (Broadway’s Funny Girl), is charming, effervescent, and fun, but suffers because of all that clutter. She finds ways to utilize the obstacles well, but the movements forever feel like its crowding in the energy, all to the beautifully adapted score arranged by David Chase (Broadway’s 1776) with music direction and orchestrations by Jacinth Greywoode (Iron John: An American Ghost Story).

The cast is compelling, emotional, and exceptional, with Kuhn and Jones coming together beautiful and clear. Adam Grupper (Broadway’s (Pictures From Home) as Maurice Pulvermacher, Greg Hildreth (Broadway’s Company) as Teddy Asch, and Woods as the other woman giving Ruthie a run for her money, also give us their all, but the secondary heart sits firmly in that other family, the one that trusts Harry completely, with their love, security, family, and faith. In their union, played strong and true by Adam Chanler-Berat (Broadway’s Amélie) and Sarah Steele (RTC’s The Humans) as husband and wife; Meyer and Blanche Bushkin, the Jewish designer and his wife, they put their complete faith in Harry and usher forth a whole different element to the show. One that is completely devastating thanks to their and the cast’s delivery. It’s that uncomfortable conflict between faith, assimilation, and tradition, echoed in Kuhn’s carrying Mother and realized most fully in the celebration of Bushkin’s son, Teddy, portrayed by Victor de Paula Rocha (MUNY’s Rent) [who also earlier played the young Harry] and his Bar Mitzvah. That family’s betrayal is the final straw, yet it still stings true since, for some reason, we had not given up on Harry until that very moment.

But let’s not forget what most of us do know about this musical, historically speaking, and the main reason this show is remembered. It was the 1962 launching pad for a young, 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, making her Broadway debut as the loyal assistant to Harry, Miss Marmelstein, a part made bigger because of her just-seen talent. Funny Girl followed a few years later, and the rest is history, but inside this particular production, the making of another star is laid out right there before us. Maybe this part is the dress pattern for success, who knows, but with Julia Lester taking on the role, fresh from her Tony-nominated breakout performance as Little Red in Broadway’s smash revival of Into the Woods last summer, it certainly feels that Miss Marmelstein is the launching pad for success. Almost more-so than Harry, and Lester shines in the part, rolling about and rivaling all on top of those messy set pieces, commanding us to pay attention. How could we not? She shines super bright; hilarious and completely appealing, an equal to Fontana in his dark spotlight. I had no idea that I was walking into something like that, let alone the darkness of the anti-hero played out so deviously well, much like most I gather from the intermission reactions, but it’s certainly worth the trip to Union Square, to watch one star on the quick rise, and another cementing his already golden status in Classic Stage Company‘s solid revival of I Can Get It For You Wholesale. I’m glad I’m going to be able to say I was there when it all happened. Into the Woods and beyond.