American Theater Web Review of
For the Love of Tiffany
By Andy Propst
New York International Fringe Festival
More consistent and more intimate is
For the Love of Tiffany which introduces the audience to Stephanie, a receptionist at Shawshank Realty ("We're your Realtors for life."), who lives vicariously through the Wifetime Television movies that she watches until the wee hours of the morning and discusses online endlessly with similarly addicted, lonely people.
When Stephanie's life takes a spin into the made-for-tv-movie realm (she's implicated in an embezzlement scheme at the office and has 48 hours to raise $1 million or face jail), she comes face-to-face with her favorite leading lady from the small screen, Tiffany Jenkins. The rest of the plot doesn't really matter.
What does matter is that Amanda Green has created some of the wittiest lyrics heard in a new musical in quite some time; Curtis Moore's music is infectious, most notably the anthem "Let America Come" and "Be a Little Less Stupid."
Matthew Brookshire and Thomas Mizer have crafted a book for the piece that gleefully throws clichés around as if confetti. Brookshire's direction on the bare stage of the Wings Theatre crisply whisks audiences through the tale. His seven-person company boasts Nancy Opel (from
Urinetown and last season's
Polish Joke), at her comedic best, as Tiffany, and Jonathan Dokuchitz, seen last season in the Roundabout's
The Boys from Syracuse and
The Look of Love. Here, Dokuchitz proves that underneath his handsome exterior is a comedian desperate to be zany, and he simply charms. Marnie Nicolella makes Stephanie spunky and lovable but not overly sweet. Surrounding these three are Green, Jeremy Peter Johnson, Rebecca Jones and Michael Luluberes each of whom creates a number of thoroughly delightful characters, whom I was sorry to see go after the brief 75 minute running time of Tiffany.
