When it comes to feel-good musicals at local theaters, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley holds itself to a high standard.
This musical version of Ed Graczyk’s play “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” developed and now world-premiering at TheatreWorks, hews closely to the stage original, which was directed by Robert Altman (followed by Altman’s 1982 film version).
The attention to detail, the very generosity and professionalism of the production, are hallmarks of TheatreWorks’ approach. There’s the 1950s-style dime store set (scenic designer Nina Ball), a masterpiece of period detail; the equally detailed and varied costumes (by Alina Bokovikova); a six-member band in the pit. Even the running time—almost two hours with no intermission—feels just right for the densely packed plot to unfold.
And dense it is.
As in the original play, the now-adult members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club are meeting to commemorate the death, 20 years ago, of actor James Dean in a 1955 car crash; his last movie, “Giant,” was filmed in nearby Marfa, in West Texas. The summer heat feels visceral as the women gather, each hoarding memories of the past that go well beyond their devotion to the iconic movie star, a symbol of a rebelliousness that was beginning to affect the cultural zeitgeist.
Single-mother Mona (Lauren Marcus) arrives by bus, anxious about her grown-up son, Jimmy Dean, whom she believes is mentally deficient. Mona’s cherished claim to fame: She was an extra in the movie.
Sissy (a delightfully exuberant Stephanie Gibson) flounces in, a vision with flowing blond hair and a bust that she loves to draw attention to.
Other fan club members arrive, each with painful or confusing or just plain false memories of the past that will eventually be revealed.
Into the mix wanders a stranger, a trans woman who introduces herself as Joanne (Shakina, who also wrote the “5 & Dime” lyrics). No one just happens to be passing through this hick burg, so who exactly is she?
As the musical, with book by Ashley Robinson and music by Dan Gillespie Sells, proceeds, we eventually go back in time to high school, when three of them formed a girl-group—and when one of them faced pervasive homophobia.
The plot is jam-packed: the characters reveal tales of not just homophobia but anti-immigrant prejudice, alcoholism, marital cruelty, self-deception. Even climate change (the town is in the midst of a drought) comes into the picture. And the songs (some with a mid-century vibe, others fairly standard musical-theater numbers) consistently move that plot forward.
Under Giovanna Sardelli’s carefully paced direction, leavened with just the right amount of humor, tension and pathos, the seven-member cast gets it all right: strong singing and emotional authenticity.
If only, in real life, we could make peace with the past—in the space of two hours.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical” continues through July 13 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Tickets are $34-$115 at theatreworks.org.
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