No, No, Nanette

Encores broke its own tradition by mounting the 1971 version of the
1925 show that, legend has it, helped curse Boston Red Sox.  But thank
God this year included a genuinely entertaining show.

It's a trifle, filled to the brim with dance, but what dancers!
Michael Berresse, Shonn Wiley and Mara Davi all stepped with style.
The comic highlights were Angel Reda, Jennifer Cody and Nancy Anderson
as the mistresses.  Old pros Sandy Duncan and Charles Kimbrough retain
some charm.  I'm afraid I just don't get Beth Leavel.  Her jazz
singing involves abrupt changes in volume that have nothing to do with
the lyric being crooned.

But nothing was as horrifying as the sack of slackness impersonating a
maid.  She reads lines like a very bored prompter in an overheated
room.  Her name is Rosie O'Donnell and I hope she never again darkens
a stage.