‘Guitar’s’ singing almost makes up for lack of acting

When Kimmie Kidd, as Vienna, the tough but heart-of-gold saloon owner, gets to sing, you want to forgive Super Summer Theatre/Stage Door Entertainment's "Johnny Guitar."

During a number called "Welcome Home," for example, she stands confidently with one hand on her hip, another on a bar counter, and projects the kind of warmth that makes you understand why home is such a nice place to be. Kidd's vocalizing is skilled. But it's her ability to create a direct line of communication that makes her memorable. You feel as if she is performing only for you.

Too bad the production so often blocks her vibes

This off-Broadway parody of the 1954 Joan Crawford Western pits our heroine against Emma, a nasty villainess (Courtney Sheets) who wants Vienna hanged. Add to that a long-lost love who likes to sing now instead of fight (the title character, played by Jay Joseph) and a baby-faced Dancin' Kid (Dan Bernbach) who'll do anything to win Vienna back, and you have enough of a plot to serve as fodder for a few jokes and catchy songs.

Director Terrence Williams seems drawn to spoofs (he directed last summer's "Return to the Forbidden Planet") but doesn't have the right touch for them. His comedy is so broad and undisciplined that it comes off stupid. And he doesn't take care of script relationships. We don't feel what draws Vienna to Johnny, so the show has no backbone. We don't understand Vienna's attachment to her saloon (which is an important character-point). Nor we do we get a feel -- let alone a reason for -- Emma's obsession with Vienna.

Williams' self-mocking choreography is monotonous. How many times can you laugh at the sight of men doing high kicks and effeminate hand movements? Heather's Grindstaff's set -- the main focus of which is a peculiar vertically stacked pile of unfinished-wood stage flats -- attempts to suggest, apparently, a playfully artificial environment. But it's about as visually appealing as an industrial warehouse. And Sheets' costumes fail to take advantage of the opportunities for color and variety.

It's obvious that major casting was done purely for voices, which are, without exception, outstanding. You wish, though, that Williams had paid some attention to the acting. But a director so uninterested in the details of character is not likely to care much about the details of acting.

Still, despite her limited thespian abilities, Kidd is the major reason the evening can be enjoyed. She can cut through artistic pretense with a single note.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.