My overall impression
Review re-“printed” from www.LATheatreReview.com:
It is undeniable that Kellydawn Malloy, the buxom blonde portraying Paramount starlette Betty Hutton in the play by the same name, has a good deal of charm. During a fake press conference (in which the audience plays the Media), Malloy smiles her way through life stories riddled with dysfunctional marriages, casting couches (or in this case, trains), and performances on table tops for bootleggers. USO tours and tales from Hollywood studio’s heydays paint a romantic landscape for the rambunctious star to rise and fall. The piece is almost a hit, but the meandering structure (due as much to random audience participation as Malloy’s tendency to seem flustered and forgetful) deflate the winsomeness. Going from question to response to seemingly randomly placed song, Betty’s in a tizzy, and occasionally goes flat, sticks on nasal tones, and flails her limbs in part cute gesturing, part unsupported sound. Stronger stage movement and direction from the pieces’ playwright and director, Shelby Bond, is left to be desired, as Malloy’s presence still needs a deal of polish to shine.
