The Midnight Train Crossing

The curtain kept me occupied for a little while as I tried to figure out if the "Happy Days" print was printed in blue or green or both. I decided it was both.

I knew a little of what the story was going to be - besides that it was based on the Happy Days musical - because I read it in the paper.

It's Milwaukee Wisconsin, 1959 and Arnolds - the popular hang out is in danger of being closed because a construction company bought the land, and the gang rallies together to save the restaurant.

They tried to use as many references to the TV series as possible, and there were quite a few funny ones. Of course, it's all about the Fonz. Actually, the story was. Richie (Steven Booth) narrated it, but the story really centered around Fonzie - fantastically played by Joey Sorge.

The opening song "Welcome to Wisconsin" was a little hard to understand, everyone was singing all at once and I think there were some sound troubles. It was also broken up by some scenes and dialogue as they established the atmosphere.
I'm glad that I didn't blink, and I didn't miss Fonzie's entrance. He slipped in and sat down at the table behind some people and held a menu up to his face. I think if I hadn't been watching, I would have missed it. But then, when Richie mentioned him, he put the menu down and greeted everyone with a thumbs up and his "Aaay"
They zipped through a lot of stuff about him - his office in the bathroom, girls flock to his side, his hair must always be perfect, and nobody messes with him.

Then Arnold (Barry Pearl) broke the bad news - his restaurant was going to close. Fonzie and Ritchie decided that they had to do something about it.
Alone on the stage, Fonzie contemplated what to do. He always had this gift, things just happened whenever he snapped his fingers. I think that the ability to snap loudly like that was a requirement for the role. So, in the second song of the play "Snap" he demonstrated that he had a nice voice.
However, he lacks the ability to say the word "wrong". He tried, but it always just came out "wr" During most of his songs, he had the Car Hops Leah Sprecher and Gabriella Reed turn up and sing back up for him.

Of course, there has to be Richie's friends Potsie (Daniel Robinson), Ralph (James Michael Lambert) and Chachi (Chris Fore). Ralphie was just hilarious throughout most of the show - especially in the song "Run."

Chachi was also very good with a nice voice, and very nice to look at. He also always had a yoyo, which I'm not sure if that was a reference to the original show or not, but they used the yoyo a lot to reflect his character, based on what he did with it. When he was stunned, he sort of let it drop to the floor. When he was upset, the string was hopelessly tangled.
Chachi and Fonzie also had a nice song "Heartbeat" that took place in Fonzie's garage, while Fonzie gave Chachi advice on girls.

The four of them had a singing group called The Dial-Tones. Picture a barber shop quartet. No one could get their group name right, which was funny. They answered to all sorts of things. First, they practiced "Romeo Midnight", which was funny because they had hand gestures that went along with it.
Fonzie tried to help them out by telling them they needed more rock'n'roll to their group, in the song "Ooooh Bop."
But then later, in the second act, they had returned to their barber shop quartet style and sang the song "Hot Love."
I think that was the funniest part in the whole show. I can't really describe it, but I think that the image of a barber shop quartet singing a song "Hot Love" probably says it all.

The father, Howard Cunningham was played by John Massey and he was also perfect for the role.
There just had to be a meeting of the Leopard Lodge, with their fez hats. They plotted what they were going to do to save Arnolds, and they kept growling. Well, they were leopards. So that's when they come up with the brilliant idea to invite two wrestlers to their charity picnic in order to draw more attention to their fundraiser.

The Leopards were funny. And one of them, Mac Gates, had a great line. His son was off at school, doing something with computers. Little Billy always was a strange one - he doesn't think he'll amount to much.

On the girls side of the cast, first there was Joanie Cunningham (Whitney Bashor) who had the best outfits. During the dance, she wore a very fluffy skirt with a roller skate on it. It was awesome. She was also cutely shy around Chachi.

Marion Cunningham (Cynthia Ferrer) was also very good. She was discontent with her role as the perfect housewife, and dreamed of more. She had a song that was quietly powerful, "What I Dreamed Last Night" that she sang with Joanie, and was later reprised with Pinky. She also did a great tap dance number that I really was impressed with.

Pinky Tuscadero was played by Felicia Finley and she was just as cool as Fonzie. She had a good voice too, and the perfect attitude. She came roaring in with the song "The Pink's in Town." But she also sang a pretty song "Legend in Leather" where she sings about missing Fonzie. She is there to judge a dance contest for Arnold.

We also need the bad guys - the Malachi brothers. There's Jumpy Malachi (Matt Walker) and Myron "Count" Malachi (Matt Merchant). These two actors pulled double duty as the Malachi brothers and the leopards. They were very very funny. They were wrestlers, and they fought dirty. Even their breath was enough to knock out their opponents. They had a "history" with Fonzie. He didn't like them, and they didn't like him.

Their first encounter was funny - Fonzie crashed into their car and came walking in with their bumper. He read off their license plate and informed them that their lights were on. So, a challenge was set forth.
Between the wrestling match against the Malachi brothers and the return of Pinky, Fonzie is in a bit of a stressful situation.

Ritchie does not want Fonzie to wrestle because Fonzie has a secret. One of his knees is bad, and if he hurts it again, he could do permanent damage. Ritchie tells Fonzie that maybe he can't always be the tough cool guy.

While the Dial Tones perform in Arnolds, singing a slowed down version of the Happy Days theme song, Fonzie realizes that maybe Ritchie is right. He has always been a loner, always been a roamer, but he's been here for a long time. "Maybe it's time to Move On."
I liked this scene a lot, it was a good contrast. It made Fonzie's song all the more dramatic.

Act two begins with everyone being sad because Fonzie is gone. Since he is gone, Ritchie decides that he and Ralphie will wrestle instead. Ralphie is not pleased about this. Chachi's yoyo string is tied in knots, and Pinky is lamenting about missing Fonzie.

Out on the road, Fonzie's bike Deloris breaks down, leaving him stranded. He has gone as low as he can go, and the car hops, sing to him about how he is going down the road of becoming Not Cool. It was very dramatic.
He returned, and runs into Mrs Cunningham. They talk for awhile, and he says that he won't ask for help. Some how, they get to talking about Elvis and James Dean. Fonzie says that they're his heros, and Mrs Cunningham says that she thinks that those two would do the right thing. Then she leaves him.

Enter the fantasy scene, Fonzie says something to the effect of, "Right, so they're going to give me advice?" and they come walking down the stairs. Whoever played Elvis did a good job. I've never actually seen Rebel without a Cause so I dunno how good of a James Dean the other guy did, but ya know.
The song was "Guys Like Us" and it ended with the rest of the cast coming out in sunglasses and white robes like a gospel choir.

So Fonzie comes through, and comes to the wrestling match. The whole thing was done in slow motion, and they also spoke accordingly. It was very very funny.
The Malachis fought dirty, they messed up Fonzie's hair. So he pulled out a comb, and fixed his hair, while fighting against them. And then, at the end of the match, just when they were about to try to hit Fonzie's knee, Deloris came through and shined lights in their eyes, allowing Fonzie to pin them.

So after the celebration, Fonzie and Pinky talked. He didn't want to go with her before because he did not want to be playing second fiddle to her, but now he doesn't mind so much any more. And then, dramatically, he said that he was "wrong"

Pinky: "Fonzie... you just said you were wrong"
Fonzie: "I know... I feel a little dizzy"
Pinky: "Did you want to sit down?"

So, everything was resolved. During the bows, they all sang the happy days theme song. It was definitely a reoccurring melody.

Happy Days the musical is a new thing, and I'd totally recommend it for one and all

These happy days are yours and mine.