Encores! has presented plenty of odd ducks in the past two decades, but it’s still hard to beat “Irma la Douce” and its ballet for bearded penguins.
Marguerite Monnot’s delightful score is the 1956 musical’s biggest asset — she also co-wrote several hits for Edith Piaf, including “Hymne à l’Amour.” The show’s standard, “Our Language of Love,” is a gem of a love ballad. But the Shirley MacLaine movie inexplicably took out all the songs, leaving only the bizarre comic romance between “street girl” Irma (Jennifer Bowles) and law student Nestor (Rob McClure, late of “Chaplin”).
Director John Doyle lacks the soufflé-light touch required for a show big on whimsy. (Those penguins appear after the leading man escapes from a penal colony.) The heavy-handed staging only makes the plot and slang more obviously dated. Worse, the leads don’t click: McClure’s singing voice is reedy, while Bowles has little personality or charisma.
That said, the songs are lovely and impeccably performed by a small strings-free orchestra. It’s also interesting to hear the dance music John Kander supplied to the ’60 Broadway version. Still, this one’s for hardcore showtune buffs.