Le odd duck: A review of 'Mimi le Duck'

Note: I saw the first preview of "Mimi le Duck," now playing at New World Stages, on Thursday. The show opens Oct. 31.

Paris has always been a source of inspiration for artists, but the colorless Mormon life in Ketchum, Idaho must be particularly draining, because it seems that only the technicolor Paris of a Pepe le Pew cartoon could snap one of its natives out of the artistic doldrums.

When we meet Miriam Sanders (Annie Golden), she knows precious little about Paris other than what she’s seen in a Gene Kelly movie, and her art is limited to paintings of the same duck with different backgrounds, which she sells on QVC. Husband Peter (Marcus Neville), of course, is oblivious to her ennui, even though it’s affected her so badly that she’s ready to stick a shotgun in her mouth.

Fortunately, Ketchum was also a favorite spot of someone else who knows a little about that suicide method, Ernest Hemingway, and his ghost appears in time to convince Miriam that a better answer might be to go to Paris and check out his old digs, where inspiration is supposed to come in the form of a green flash.

Yes, Hemingway’s ghost is a character in this show, and one of the more grounded ones, at that. Once Miriam makes it to Paris, sans Peter, we meet a host of characters who will now be her new neighbors. There’s Claude (Robert DuSold), the oyster shucker who harbors a strange fetish for Miss Marple. There’s Clay (Candy Buckley), the eccentric sculptress whose work looks as complex as the bottom of a lava lamp. There’s the faded chantreuse Madame Vallet (Eartha Kitt…who else?) and former lover Ziggy (Tom Aldredge), the owner of an empty, bird-themed nightclub. Strangest of all, there’s the con artist gypsy (Ken Jennings) who welcomes Miriam with a purse-snatching flourish.

Fortunately for Miriam, there’s no need for the American consulate after such a crime, because the denizens of Rue Danou seem perfectly happy to bend over backward to accommodate her. Vallet gives her Hemingway's old room, and Ziggy gives her a job in his club. Despite his warnings that the pay is tips only and it hasn’t seen customers in years, Miriam—now renamed Mimi—seems to make do (and it’s not exactly explained how).

"Mimi le Duck" is a bizarre little show that vacillates between some very lovely moments and some moments of almost "In My Life"-esque oddity. The windows and doors in the house at 22 Rue Danou sing, as do the portraits of Claude's oyster-shucking ancestors and we get to see Tom Aldredge glide around the stage on a scooter. And did I mention that Ken Jennings is playing a Spanish gypsy?

Annie Golden has always been a delight, and she doesn’t disappoint here. Miriam/Mimi is certainly endearing in her earnestness and naivety, but Golden doesn’t let it descend too far into aw-shucks foolishness. Despite the trite set-up, she and Nevelle have some nice moments in the second act.

Eartha Kitt is, well, Eartha Kitt, and no one should have gone in expecting any less. She’s obviously going to be the major draw to this show, and the audience lapped up her every purring syllable. She was nominated for a Tony for virtually the same performance in The Wild Party, so obviously, she’s doing something right.

The rest of the strong supporting cast does what they can, but the characters are so broadly written--they're all given a Cliff's Notes back story--that it seems almost laughable when they’re supposed to elicit sympathy from us. The plot twists among their storylines are either glaringly obvious, like Clay's, or somewhat pointless, like Vallet's big revelation at the end. But it's not their story, and the show does better when it remembers that.

The songs, by Brian Feinstein, are hit-and-miss. Some of the lyrics, by Diana Hansen-Young, are fairly repetitive and cliché-laden. Somehow, I doubt if Hemingway's ghost were singing today, he would be performing songs that boil some of his most famous works down into trite advice about "A Thousand Hands" ready to help out a stranger in need. Kitt has a nice lament onstage alone with "Everything Changes," as does Aldredge in the second act, with his wooing "The Only Time We Have Is Now." The fact that Aldredge does not have a beautiful voice and really sounds like an amorous octogenarian makes it work. Most of the second act songs, in fact, are far superior to the disjointed first act.

There were a few technical glitches last night, and some of the set changes were rather clunky, but they certainly can be chalked up to it being the first preview. One moving set piece proved particularly unstable, and I thought Aldredge was going to knock Golden to the ground every time he mounted it.

I left really not sure what to make of the show. I found it endearing, yet far too schizophrenic between the wackiness and the too-heavy pathos. The audience reaction was certainly mixed. One group of girls beside me laughed at it for all the wrong reasons, but the woman in front of me was moved to tears for the right ones.

When it comes down to it, I guess I would tentatively recommend the show just for the overall excellent cast—especially Golden—and for some parts of the lovely, albeit somewhat forgettable, score. With some work to the book, I see the potential for a good show. Perhaps, in time, this duck could be a golden goose instead of an odd bird.