A week or so ago, Keridwyn Deller held a contest to win tickets for the opening weekend of The 5th Avenue’s new production, Saving Aimee. I love theatre and especially musicals, so I was thrilled when I won! I’ve seen several productions at the 5th Avenue Theatre and they have all been entertaining and well done.
I knew nothing of the story and I’d never heard of Aimee Semple McPherson. All I had was the short bio on the promotional postcard from the 5th Avenue: “Before Bakker, before Swaggart, before Robertson, there was Aimee Semple McPherson, the first media superstar evangelist. Her spectacular fall from grace is a real-life story tangled with scandalous love affairs and a tabloid-frenzied trial.” That was enough to pique my interest.
I found the story fascinating. I enjoy learning about history and this musical is based on a true story set in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I’ve always been a fan of the music and culture of the 1920s, so it was fun to see this era in Saving Aimee. The musical told the story of Aimee Semple McPherson, through flashbacks during her grand jury trial in 1926. Aimee was missing for five weeks and claimed she was kidnapped. The prosecutor alleged she had run away with a married lover. The play tells her story and lets the audience decide if Aimee was innocent or guilty.
The story reminded me a lot of Evita, another tale of a woman in history who did both good and bad things. I think the play wants us to decide if Aimee is a bad woman doing good things or a good woman doing bad things, but I’m not sure the story is balanced enough. To me it seemed like they led us down the path that she was a fake for most of the production, and it wasn’t until the end that they highlight all the good Aimee did during her life. I would’ve liked to see more balance during the story, not just at the end.
The cast was fantastic! Carolee Carmello was outstanding as Aimee. She was able to show the various emotions and stages throughout her character’s life. Her voice was incredible! Ed Watts played Aimee’s first husband, Robert Semple, and her third husband, David Hutton. Watts was a skilled performer and definitely not bad to look at! He played both an Irish preacher and a smarmy LA actor with ease. But for me, Roz Ryan stole the show! Ryan played Emma Jo, a reformed madame turned Aimee’s right hand. She has an incredible voice and perfect comedic timing.
It isn’t very often that I go see a musical and I don’t already know all the songs by heart. I enjoyed the music, however many of the songs sounded too similar for me. Why Can’t I was a great song and reminded me some of Dorothy’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow. My favorite song of the production was A Girl’s Gotta Do What a Girl’s Gotta Do in the brothel, but it didn’t seem to fit the rest of the score. But I’d love to do that song at karaoke!
All in all, I found Saving Aimee to be well-done and entertaining. The 5th Avenue Theatre often modifies and alters productions as they go, so I would be interested to see how the production evolves over the run. Saving Aimee runs until October 29, and if you like musicals and history, I recommend you check it out.
Check out the Saving Aimee Montage to get a taste of the play.
Have you seen Saving Aimee? What did you think?
I’m a musical theatre nerd. I remember seeing my very first roadshow of Cats in Portland when I was just a wee little kitten. I fell in love with Les Miserables before I was old enough to understand all the historical situations and adult plot lines. When I was in college, I participated in an open call audition for a Broadway show in New York. I was vastly underprepared, but I certainly had heart and a never-ending love for musical theatre.
