Below are the reviews of MusicalFare Theatre's 2004 and 2005 productions of ZOOMA ZOOMA.  Both appeared in The Buffalo News.

TRIBUTE TO PRIMA IS BETTER THAN EVER

Published on June 11, 2005
Author:    Ted Hadley - NEWS CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER
© The Buffalo News Inc.

REVIEW: 4 STARS (OUT OF 4)

Louis Prima, who gave up classical violin for boogie-woogie trumpet, was a headline entertainer for 47 years. Born in New Orleans in 1910 to Italian immigrants, Prima's show business career began with famed Red Nichols and the Five Pennies, and he later fronted his own big band in the 1930s. He somehow stumbled into a series of forgettable movies -- "Rhythm on the Range," with Bing Crosby 1936, for example -- before national stardom beckoned after marrying deadpan singer Keely Smith, wife No. 4, in 1948. Recordings went gold, Las Vegas welcomed the man they called "the Wildest." Prima's opening nights anywhere became legendary. Reviews all echoed the words of New York critic Gene Knight: "Pandemonium reigned last night. And so did Louis Prima."

MusicalFare Theatre, Studio Arena and Shea's Performing Arts Center in partnership, reprising their acclaimed tribute to Louis Prima -- as well as showcasing the music he played and inspired -- is back with "Zooma Zooma," a new and improved version of the song and dance party conceived by Jim Runfola and Michael Walline. In a word, it's sensational.

Co-author Walline also directs and choreographs "Zooma Zooma," and his work is exemplary. The cast -- the same originals as a year ago plus four -- sing and dance at warp speed through 32 melodies, some of Prima's, most of his contemporaries, including four by Buffalo-born Harold Arlen, "I've Got the World on a String" among them. Classy inclusion by the authors. Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter are also heard.

From the opening "The Birth of the Blues," though, it's apparent that the night will be something special. The stage is alive with flashes of color, fast-changing costumes by Michael Chamberlain aiding here, pastel flimsies for the girls here, gangster-ish suits for the guys there, with impossible attire for Norm Sham, returning as Louis Prima, he of the stutter-step and complete body wiggle. It is said that Elvis Presley borrowed Prima's on-stage moves; the King should have waited for Sham's.

Runfola and Walline did not want to imitate Prima and Norm Sham doesn't try to; but at times he comes awfully close, complete with fractured Italian, nonsense syllables and scat. The title tune, "Angelina," the frantic and unpredictable "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody," "Jump, Jive and Wail" and the silly "Ooh Dah Dilly Dah" -- with the pert and pristine-voiced Michele Maier -- are great fun. If these tunes don't get you vibrating, please, get a physical exam.

And all the while, Walline's dance designs, so innovative, aid and abet. Terrific.

Wendy Hall is the designated temptress and she delivers her torch songs with a sultry sameness when maybe saucy would do. The songs survive and Hall is fine otherwise. Marc Sacco is a pleasant surprise, vocally and afoot, Maier is wonderful, particularly on "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," and the rest of this talented cast -- dancers Jason Kassirer, Joice Passos, Kristy Schupp and Doug Weyand -- revel in the Studio Arena space. Room to roam for this athletic and agile quartet.

Louis Prima wrote many songs of his own: "Please No Squeeza the Banana," and who can forget "Felicia No Capicia." But Prima also wrote "Sunday Kind of Love" for Jo Stafford and "Sing, Sing, Sing" for Benny Goodman, who made it his signature tune. Runfola, who orchestrated and arranged the show's music, included many other songs -- rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll -- whose composers owe much to the kid from the Big Easy.

The six piece on-stage band, led by keyboardist Mark Vona, sounds bigger; Sam Butera and the Witnesses would be proud. Designers Chris Schenk and Chris Cavanagh add their specialties, and sax man Runfola gets involved in a song or two.

But it is Michael Walline's inventive choreography and wise direction and the one-of-a-kind Norm Sham that make this "Zooma Zooma" work. Pandemonium reigns, Buffalo-style.

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PRIMA CHOICE

Published on April 23, 2004
Author:    ANTHONY VIOLANTI - News Staff Reviewer
© The Buffalo News Inc.

REVIEW: 4 STARS (OUT OF 4)

WHAT: "Zooma Zooma"   WHEN: Through May 23
WHERE: MusicalFare Theatre, 4380 Main St., Amherst
INFO: 839-8540

I saw it.

I felt it.

I jumped, jived and wailed it -- in the spirit of Louis Prima.

The wild and rambunctious singer died in 1978 but everything that is Prima is alive, well and has the joint jumping at MusicalFare Theatre.

"Zooma Zooma" had its world premiere this week and is an absolute be-bopping, scat-singing and shimmy-shaking blast. This musical and dance revue, masterfully conceived by Jim Runfola and Michael J. Walline, just might become a local cult classic.

What Tim Curry brought to "Rocky Horror," local actor Norman Sham brings to "Zooma Zooma": an electric energy that consumes an audience.

Sham prances, gestures and sings with pulsating grace and humor. With his bulbous body and beaming round eyes, Sham struts and leers his way through this production like a precocious nose tackle in the middle of a chorus line.

But don't get the idea that Sham is just imitating Prima. That would be nearly impossible. Prima, for those who don't know, was a musical force who sort of bridged the gap between Sinatra and Elvis.

Prima started his career playing jazz in the 1930s and then concocted a purely American musical form that blended bop, pop, ethnic music, R&B and rock. His style spanned every dance craze from the Charleston to the Twist. Prima, who worked with his wife and singing partner, Keely Smith, reached his heights during the early 1950s.

"Zooma Zooma" details the eclectic blend of Prima's music that covered more than four decades. Sham steals the show, but the rest of the cast puts on stellar performances, all of them singing Prima's songs and performing dance routines.

Wendy Hall kicks things off with a stirring and sultry version of "Birth of the Blues." Marc Sacco, sleek and handsome, offers some cool vocals and slick dance moves in such numbers as "Fever" and "Old Black Magic." Michele Maier has the right pipes and attitude for "Stormy Weather" and "I Want You to Be My Baby."

Angela Sauers turns up the sexual heat with blistering dance performances while Doug Weyand adds smooth moves and some comic dancing turns.

Put them all together and the chemistry of this ensemble is contagious and joyful. Sham climaxes everything with a bravura effort that does justice to such Prima standards as "Angelina/Zooma Zooma," "Just a Gigolo" and "Pennies From Heaven." The whole company ends the show with a rousing "Jump, Jive an' Wail."

Also worth noting is the music direction of Mark Vona, costumes by Michael Chamberlain, lighting and sound by Chris Cavanagh, set design by Chris Schenk and Walline's choreography. Runfola plays a mean sax and leads the orchestra. Runfola even takes a turn singing a kind of boogie-woogie rap number with Sham called "Next Time."