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John Raitt and Marcia Rodd Join to Brighten "Day"By Toni MastroianniCleveland Press June 27, 1967 What a difference a good baritone and an actress with a grasp of her role can make. The baritone is the excellent John Raitt and the actress, who can sing beautifully as well, is Marcia Rodd and both do wonders for "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" which opened at Musicarnival last night. "Clear Day" may go down in history as the most kicked around show in musical comedy business. Revised and restaged often since its so-so Broadway run in 1965, the show seems to get better each time around and the current production is thoroughly enjoyable. One thing that helps tremendously is having a strong male lead which is what the Musicarnival production has in the person of John Raitt. For though the show revolves around the mystery of a girl with extra-sensory perception who also may have had another existence the psychiatrist who discovers the mystery has an equally large part and some of the best songs as well. RAITT IS ABLE TO UNLIMBER that big, romantic voice of his on the title song, "Melinda" and "Come Back To Me." In a slightly revised ending, he gets a chance to duet "She Wasn't You" with Miss Rodd, a beautiful song done by another character earlier in the show. The reprise has merit. Raitt has been doing costume parts for so long It is a little strange to see him in modern clothes. But it also is rather interesting to see a leading man who exudes virility. AS THE KOOKY HEROINE who hears phones before they ring, knows which pocket your keys are in and who can make flowers grow like something in a science fiction movie, Miss Rodd is a delight. Wonderfully antic as the flighty Daisy Gamble, she nevertheless slips easily into the character of the very proper, 18th century, Melinda. Fred Cline plays the stuffy security-minded boy friend without being a complete caricature. Other roles in the show are all capably played. ALAN JAY LERNER'S PLAY has been trimmed and tightened somewhat. Though the show is still a muddle of two different stories, it is less exasperating so without some of the excess verbiage. Switching from 20th to 18th century was done cleverly enough considering the problem of using sets in a theater in-the-round. The sound system had trouble with off stage voices opening night, a mechanical problem which certainly can be solved easily. |
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