Whereas the new film version of The Prom disappoints, Irish Repertory Theater’s hybrid stage-screen production of the holiday classic Meet Me in St. Louis is more modest in its aims and succeeds in its execution. The beloved 1944 MGM film of St. Louis was previously presented on Broadway in an overblown 1989 stage version, and then IRT scaled it down for a cozy, intimate Off-Broadway adaptation in 2006. Artistic director Charlotte Moore (who appeared as the mother in the Broadway edition) adapts and directs this pandemic version with the actors filmed in separate locations.
The company has been a leader in offering streamed theater events during the health crisis with innovative, distanced productions of The Weir and Give Me Your Hand. St. Louis continues the success by effectively assembling the many scenes performed by the relatively large cast, along with a small, masked orchestra, into a cohesive whole. There are a few hiccups such as a bizarre kiss between the leads in different sites, but the essence of the heartwarming story shines through.
The film, derived from the stories of Sally Benson, was conceived as vehicle for Judy Garland and chronicles a year in the life of the Smith family (1903) as the world’s fair comes to their home town. Adolescent romance blossoms, tykes get into mischief and the family is heartbroken when the stern father informs them they are moving to New York (horrors!). The screenplay drips with nostalgia for a bygone era complete with white-picket fences and Sunday socials, yet this COVID edition feels appropriate for 2020. A racially diverse cast truly reflects a multiethnic America, and the yearning for family and community is palpable during this time of crisis. As the Smith daughter Esther (the Garland role, beautifully reinterpreted by Shereen Ahmed) sings to her tearful sister Tootie (the delightfully impish Kylie Kuioka), “Through the years we all will be together/If the fates allow,” it’s abundantly clear that the actors are not together and we will all have to wait to be physically near each other.
Charlie Corcoran’s scenic design recalls heartwarming tintypes of the era and Meridith Sommers provides the seamless video-editing.
