With kinks worked out 'Angels' should shine

On its opening night, City of Angels wore a slightly tarnished halo. The show's clever and exciting script was well executed by the cast, but technical problems marred some heavenly performances. College junior John Hedges and College senior Thomas Shotkin were excellent as the two sides of the lead character's persona. Hedges was lovable and wishy-washy as Stine, the weak but witty author. Shotkin, on the other hand, was deliciously gritty as Stone, the wise-cracking private dick. Other standouts included College freshman Sarah Norman as Gabby/Bobbi, College sophomore Karen Agam as Donna/Oolie and Elizabeth Mitchell, also a College sophomore, as the innuendo-spouting Alaura Kingsley. College freshman Daniel Gutin stole the show, however, as Stine's slimy producer, Buddy Fidler. He delivered his bitingly ironic lines with enough energy and style to make the audience almost forget about the show's problems. Unfortunately, the performance was plagued by technical flaws. The most obvious offenders were the microphones. Aside from being far too visible, they stole as many lines as possible, giving off feedback each time two actors got too close during a song. This was especially unfortunate during an otherwise well-executed bedroom scene between College sophomore Rebecca Ullman, as Mallory, and Shotkin. Ullman, wearing only a sheet, fought valiantly throughout the duet to cover her microphone. She lost. Coordination between the cast, orchestra and stage crew was also weak. The crew moved unusually slowly, and one can only conclude that they were underrehearsed. The same goes for the orchestra, whose tempo often did not match that of the singers. While the singing was uniformly strong, the staging was less reliable. Choreography vacillated between outstanding in numbers involving five or fewer actors, and stiff with larger groups. The four-man dance number for "All You Have To Do Is Wait," set in a morgue, sent waves of laughter through the audience. The chorus' dancing during the prologue, though, sent only waves of boredom. All in all, City of Angels is worth seeing, both for the hilarious dialogue and insightful acting. One can only hope that the technical kinks will work themselves out as the show's run progresses. The show will run tonight and Saturday, as well as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of next week, all starting at 8 p.m. at the Harold Prince Theater.