Vanities: The Musical

 Vanities
The Musical
York Theatre Company
March 25, 2023 

Photo courtesy of York Theatre Company

The York Theatre Company production of Vanities: The Musical is now playing at Theatre at St. Jean’s (150 E. 76 St.).  This show falls right into York Theatre’s mission of being dedicated to "developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving neglected, notable shows from the past.”  The vision of director Will Pomerantz for this production is sleek, sharp, and clean.  The flow of the action is continuous over the decades of the story.  The character’s growth is seen through the transformation of their relationship.  Their friendship deepens, pulls apart, then reunites.

Mary (played by Jade Jones), Kathy (played by understudy Olivia Kaufmann), and Joanne (played by Hayley Podschun) are popular cheerleaders in their small town high school and dating the boys of their dreams.  They cannot see themselves ever separating, and feel a bit of anxiety at the thought of not being in the same sorority, or even worse, not getting into the same college.  Luckily they do, which is where their experiences start to vary.  Joanne is planning her wedding to her high school sweetheart, who is preparing to enter law school.  Kathy’s heart is broken when her boyfriend gets another girl pregnant and marries her.  Mary is preparing to throw caution to the wind by traveling through Europe after graduation.  When they meet again six years after college graduation, their lives are strikingly different.  To be betrayed by a long-time friend is devastating for everyone involved.  These women are unprepared for what is ahead.

Photo courtesy of York Theatre Company

The singing voices of these three women (Jade Jones, Olivia Kaufmann, and Hayley Podschun) are phenomenal.  Not only do their individual vocal qualities work well for their characters, but they blend magnificently.  David Kirshenbaum’s music and lyrics ring beautifully.

Vanities originally opened Off Broadway in 1976 and ran for a remarkable 1,785 performances.  Playwright Jack Heifner collaborated with composer/lyricist David Kirshenbaum to develop his hit play into a musical.  It ran at Second Stage Theatre during the summer of 2009.  In 2016 the musical opened in the West End of London with new material not heard in the New York production. 

The York Theatre Company revisioning of this unknown gem is worth seeing.  It runs through April 22. 

Domenick Danza