‘Blonde’ ambition

The new Actor’s Repertory Theatre of the Inland Northwest started its season with a classic British comedy.

Now, for a follow-up, it’s tackling a true American icon: Mae West.

“Dirty Blonde,” a Broadway hit based on the bawdy West’s life and times, opens Friday at Spokane Falls Community College’s Spartan Theatre.

“I love biographies, and I love movie star biographies – particularly somebody as mythical, as iconic as Mae West,” says Michael Weaver, Actor’s Repertory Theatre artistic director. “She’s one of the four or five people known everywhere in the entire world.

“She represents, I think, a sort of freedom that we all aspire to but sometimes are afraid to go after.”

That’s particularly true of the central characters in “Dirty Blonde,” Jo and Charlie, a pair of lonely, devoted West fans who meet in New York City during a visit to her grave on her birthday. The play bounces between the evolution of their modern-day romance and the colorful story of West’s own life.

“Jo and Charlie are two people who want a glamorous existence like Mae West had but are too timid to really go after life,” says Weaver. “Over the course of the play, that changes.”

The story was captivating enough during its Broadway run in 2000 to earn five Tony nominations, including best play and best actress for its creator/star, Claudia Shear. The New York Times called it “hands down the best new American play of the season.”

While Weaver directed ARt’s opener, “How The Other Half Loves,” he’s brought in a guest director for “Dirty Blonde”: Chad Henry, best known as the author of the smash Seattle-born musical comedy “Angry Housewives.”

Henry’s keen sense of style is important to “Dirty Blonde,” where the styles shift back and forth from present to past, Weaver says: “I knew he could really define them, bring them to life in a way that was not confusing to audiences.”

While it’s not a musical per se, there also are six musical numbers in “Dirty Blonde,” ranging from vaudeville to Vegas, Weaver adds, “and I knew (Henry) could really bring that to life.”

But the real key to this production is Christina Lang, a Boise actress who plays the dual roles of Jo and Mae West.

“I wouldn’t have done this show if she had not been available,” Weaver says. “You’ve got to have Mae West, and I knew she could do that. I don’t know anybody else who could. Some other people could approximate it, but she’s like, ‘Oh my God, Mae West!’ “

Lang, an Idaho Shakespeare Festival veteran, has been a frequent performer at Interplayers in Spokane, where Weaver formerly was associate artistic director and appeared in many productions.

Weaver will play Charlie in “Dirty Blonde,” as well as a handful of characters from West’s life including W.C. Fields.

The cast is rounded out by Tralen Doler, a Spokane native who’s now an actor/director/choreographer in New York City. He plays many of the men in West’s life, including her secret husband and her best friend in Hollywood, Ed Hearn.

“Chad, both sets of his grandparents are from Spokane,” Weaver says. “Through our research we found out that Ed Hearn was from Washington state. It’s like a big homecoming for a lot of us, getting together to do this show.

“We’re having a great time. We’re laughing a lot during rehearsals, and that’s always a good sign.”