This One’s For The Girls – Review by Theater Pizzazz
By Magda Katz
November 11, 2017
Haley Swindal, Aneesa Folds, Traci Bair, Jana Robbins – (Photo credit: Carol Rosegg)
This One’s For the Girls, a musical at the St Luke’s Theatre, is for everyone, not just the girls! It’s for anyone who loves music that makes you want to jump out of your seat and dance.
This happy show follows the journey of women through the past 100 years. The original musical moves the story along by utilizing songs that were popular hits in the various eras. The show features four dynamic and talented women – Traci Bair (Pandora’s Box) , Aneesa Folds (Ragtime), Jana Robbins (Broadway’s Gypsy), and Haley Swindal (Broadway’s Jekyll &Hyde).
Each of these ladies shine as they take their turn in the spotlight. They make a strong ensemble with their tight harmonies and also performing solo numbers. Haley Swindal shows off her comedy talent as she laments about her boyfriend who has not called as she sits by the phone waiting and sings the Shirley Bassey hit “It Must Be Him.” Jana Robbins plays the role of the narrator presenting her own story. Folds, Swindal and Bair take on the different roles as women change throughout the 20th century.
Haley Swindal, Traci Bair, Jana Robbins, and Aneesa Folds Carol Rosegg)
Haley Swindal, Traci Bair, Jana Robbins and Aneesa Folds in a scene from “This One’s For the Girls” (Photo credit: Carol Rosegg)
Some of the forty hit songs they sing are ”Que Sera, Sera,” as 1950’s submissive young mothers and housewives, “Johnny Angel” and “Where the Boys Are” as teenage girls longing for a boyfriend . When the show moves into the feminist era, the songs become more assertive such as “You Don’t Own Me”’and “I will Survive.” The show ends with Aretha Franklin’s mega hit “R.E.S.P.E.C.T (Respect).”
Dorothy Marcic’s This One’s For the Girls (she also created the musical Sistas) is a joyful musical aimed at a wide audience. The show is well directed by Tamara Kangas Erickson, with musical direction by Zachary Ryan.
St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 West 46 Street, 212 239-6200 This One’s for the Girls plays on Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm www.FortheGirlstheMusical.com
