‘Women on the Verge’ makes strong leap from film to stage

They are at the brink and on the edge. But the ladies of Spain spinning out of control in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, the musical which had its regional premiere Saturday at the Rose Marine Theater, certainly know how to make pending mental illness hilarious.

Based on the 1988 Pedro Almodovar film of the same title, this Artes de la Rosa production boasts a fine cast, a first-rate pit orchestra and some able direction by Adam Adolfo, who will be leaving his post as artistic director in September after seven years of leading this company.

Fortunately, this show allows him to say “adios” on a high note.

The problem causing most of the mental anguish in this show is Ivan (James Worley), a smarmy actor who is inexplicably still loved by his emotionally unstable wife, Lucia (Kristin Spires), whom he has steadfastly avoided for almost 20 years, and his much younger fellow performer, Pepa (Alden Bowers Price), who also dubs films for a living.

And they are not the only ones. Despite being such an obvious loser, this Ivan guy gets a lot of female attention.

Floating around the edges of this extremely messed up situation are Ivan’s son, Carlos (Jordan Justice), his fiancé, Marissa (Elizabeth Thresher) and Pepa’s loose-cannon of a best friend, Candela (Emma Leigh Montes) — a highly combustible model who is also pretty good at finding explosive relationships.

There is plenty of plot in this show set in Madrid in the 1980s (although the only real nod to the period is an old-fashioned telephone answering machine). It is brimming with romantic and legal problems that beg for resolution.

But it is really all about its wacky, comically self-destructive characters.

Adolfo’s cast does a fine job of bringing these off-kilter Spaniards to life. Price, Worley and Spires do most of the heavy lifting here. They all deliver the goods with solid vocalizing and strong acting.

But the show is completely stolen by Montes, who makes her supporting role grander than it is written.

Her first act number, Model Behavior, in which she leaves a series of increasing shrill and desperate phone messages on Pepa’s machine, is a side-splitting show stopper. It is just one component of a beautifully constructed, total performance.

Another real plus in this production is the fine work of keyboardist and conductor Richard Gwozdz, long one of the finest musicians working in area theaters, and his five cohorts in the pit. Their efforts are exceptionally well coordinated with the singers, which suggests that musical director Spires probably also deserves some credit.

Adolfo’s direction moves the piece at a brisk clip and keeps its total running time to a reasonable two hours and 15 minutes. He does a nice job of keeping things busy and appropriately manic without ever lapsing into messy or cluttered staging.

The drawbacks of the production are that there is not really a set and that the overall darkness of the Rose Marine space (where every production reminds you that you are in movie house, not a theater) defeats a show that needs bright, sunny lighting.

Also, the choreography by Nathan Scott displays some good ideas. But because of the large cast (19 players) and the cozy space, the dance numbers do not have room to breathe or flow. As a result, most of the show’s productions numbers come off as a bit awkward and clunky.

When this show emerged in 2010, it was not well received, and it had an unexpectedly short Broadway run. But this production makes a good case for this musical, which features a book by Jeffrey Lane and music and lyrics by David Yazbek.

The script retains the high-heeled humor of the source material, and the songs are consistently appealing because they are not the usual, generic Broadway products. In general, the music is nicely varied and filled with interesting constructions.

So if you think that watching three women losing their already tenuous grip on reality might not be something pretty to watch, you need to meet Pepa, Lucia and Candela.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "‘Women on the Verge’ makes strong leap from film to stage."