Gigi is sparkling fun, mainly because the title character is played with enthusiasm by the vivacious Vanessa Hudgens. She’s delightful in the role of the irrepressible youngster who turns into a beautiful young woman, seemingly overnight. Even in the second act, which drags considerably, Hudgens lights up the stage. She’s pretty, has a good strong singing voice, and dances very well. A flaw in any of these attributes, and she’d be wrong for the part.
Supporting her is a fine cast. What a treat it is to see Howard McGillin, handsome and golden-voiced as ever, lending his own special brand of magnetism to the aging roué Honore Lachaille. When he and the divine Victoria Clark, as Mamita, duet on “I Remember It Well,” it brings a tear as well as a chuckle. The second act is warmed up significantly when they again sing together, exalting “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore” into a rousing anthem for Senior Citizens. I never would have thought of Dee Hoty for the role of the aging but still glamourous ex-courtesan, Aunt Alicia. To me, she’ll always be the rangy knock-out from The Will Rogers Follies. Yet here she is, soigne, overbearing, and just a little evil, gorgeous and looking born to wear the most outrageous feathered hat and most haute of the high fashioned dresses of the evening. She’s simply spectacular. Her scenes with Clark perfectly capture the ambivalent nature of sisters: loving, competitive, wounding and healing by turns. Between them, they almost manage to make the awkward “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” palatable. But honestly, it’s still almost as creepy as the Maurice Chevalier version in the 1958 movie version.
In the same vein, giving Clark “Say a Prayer” doesn’t really work all that well. Changing “me” to “her” just confuses things. Is Mamita truly worried about Gigi, or is she afraid of losing her? Another sticking point is the over-enunciation of both Hudgens and her Gaston, Corey Cott. It’s obvious that director Eric Schaeffer was concerned that these young performers wouldn’t be clearly understood, but hit those “t’s” any harder, they’ll go right through the stage floor. It’s impossible to know if Cott’s uneven performance was the result of wrong-headed direction or a palpable greenness. At times, his rendition of the title song seems heartfelt and touching. Then, in a moment, he becomes so overheated, we fear he’ll stroke out.
The question of whether or not Gaston works as a callow youth with a high tenor voice instead of a been-there-done-that older man is certainly debatable. For me, a lot of the European sensibility is lost, and the result is a more homogenized Broadway musical.
About that pesky second act…it might have been saved had not a chorus of hysterically mugging lawyers been thrown onstage. The song they present, “The Contract,” is simply awful. Fortunately, there are always parasols and colorful gowns, and those wonderful more mature performers do save the show. I hope the trend of the day will be to find vehicles for actors who attract a younger, newer audience, as is the case here. I may have been the only person at Gigi who’d never seen “High School Musical,” but I did enjoy hearing the youngsters around me discuss how excited they were to see Vanessa Hudgens in person. I have every confidence that these kids walked out of the theater happy that they came, and I hope they now realize how much fun it is to see a live theatrical performance. And if they do come back for more- Thank Heaven!
