Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette A seaside promenade on the French Riviera is the scene for some high-stepping fun in "The Boy Friend." Click photo for larger image

By Christopher Rawson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

	Post-Gazette Slideshow: Fun and frivolity on the French Riviera are captured in photos by Robin Rombach with narration by Christopher Rawson. Click photo for larger image.

Anyone who thinks that putting on a high school musical is just fun and games is missing all that hard work -- not to mention the lessons in collaboration, the warm bonding experience and lots of lasting memories. But it can be educational, too.

Like, for example, learning French.

Maybe that's not what attracted Bishop Canevin High School to "The Boy Friend," Sandy Wilson's spoof of giddy flapper musicals. But set among rich English girls at Mme. Dubonnet's finishing school on the Riviera, it naturally involves amorous French locals and a cute French maid, so there's lots of not just French accents, but passages of the real thing, which the Canevin students did, on the whole, even better than the English accents.

Beyond that, last week's show involved lots of silly giggling, squealing and flirtation, which probably didn't require much study. But the tap dancing must have: Choreographer Kristen Bixby must be a mesmerist or magician, to convince so many students they could tap and then arrange them on stage so that the audience believed it, too.

I was also impressed by the added introductory dialogues before each of the three acts. They reviewed the plot, but mainly they provided funny, well-written patter on the proceedings and also gave six more students nice featured moments.

All of that -- accents, silliness, tapping and general tongue-in-cheekiness -- is exactly what's appealing about Mr. Wilson's pastiche. (The introducers even explained "pastiche.") It's not a show you often see in high school, probably because it's just so silly (schools generally prefer a touch of substance) and because the high camp period style doesn't come easily to student casts.

But stylistically, the Bishop Canevin students gave a surprisingly good account of themselves, making a case for increased visibility for this charming show and its faux period score, which is otherwise famous mainly for being the vehicle for the teenage Julie Andrews' American theatrical debut.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Chelsea Pompeani (Polly Browne) dances with Dylan Putas (Tony) in Bishop Canevin High School's production of "The Boy Friend." Click photo for larger image.

Ms. Andrews played the shy heroine, Polly, whose workaholic father has shipped her off to boarding school. But he shows up for a school ball to reconnect with his daughter as well as an old French flame, who gets to teach the uptight Englishman to lighten up and smell the roses ... and wine, perfume and everything else attractively French.

The show's dubious intellectual argument is that "any girl who's reached the age of 17 or thereabouts, has but one desire in view" -- i.e., the object expressed in the title. The plot is a gossamer thin thing about rich kids playing briefly at being poor and Polly's search for a boyfriend, although how she could fail, I don't know; there are so many young men fluttering around, drawn by the blooms of Polly's giggling classmates.

This being the Riviera -- the original "what goes on here stays here" place -- with everyone looking so cute, proposals of love swirl around like cherry blossoms in a spring breeze.

Not to downplay the performing strengths of the girls, but the show was especially strong in its guys, often a lack in high school. In Paul Kolos' Bobby and Dylan Putas' Tony, director Andy Folmer had two capable leading men, both strong dancers. Bobby's high energy set a standard for the show, and Tony's wistful Act 3 tap solo was a high point.

The girls had that energy, too, en masse. I counted 24 of them in one number (love those chapeaux!), and when they all tapped, the waves of energy could have lit up all of Pittsburgh. There were several big production numbers, with "Sur La Plage" perhaps most memorable.

Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Liz Molnar (Maisie) gets a lift from the boys. Click photo for larger image.

Chelsea Pompeani was a willowy Polly, at her best in a charming ballroom tap duet with Tony. Among Polly's friends, Liz Molnar shone as the randy Maisie and Katelyn Britton, the lively Dulcie. They and Chelsea Pacconi's Fay and Mackenzie Grapes' Nancy were well-partnered by more of those capable guys.

Katelyn did the funny "It's Never Too Late to Fall in Love" number with Mitch Gennuso's Lord Brockhurst. Kari Maurer and Dave DeRose showed strong stage presence as Mme. Dubonnet and Percival Browne, and the dancer who kept catching your eye was dance captain Celina Lee Pompeani.

To my mind, the best performance was Nina Midgley's as Hortense, the maid with the good French who could get a laugh just by wrapping her lips around a phrase like "quelle situation!"

Special kudos to costume coordinator Beverly Ganser and a host of "costume moms" for providing lots of color. It says something about the school that the ushers were the best and most helpful I can remember at a high school show. And the program had the heft of a yearbook.

When I was a kid, we Protestants thought that Catholic school girls weren't supposed to have boyfriends at all. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway, demographics suggest that didn't hamper them in the long run. I'm glad they're getting an earlier start these days under the tutelage of Sandy Wilson and this sparkling little show.