Marilu Henner impressive in musical review at Bucks Playhouse

Marilu Henner is a splendid entertainer.
Easy-on-the-eyes and sweetly sexy, she sings well, dances effortlessly, has good comic timing and an onstage persona so open, energetic and giving that one immediately warms to her and delights in how thoroughly she appears to be enjoying herself as she performs.
In “The Marilu Henner Show,”her autobiographical musical revue, playing at the Bucks County Playhouse through Aug. 15, she sings pop and show tunes (under the sharp musical direction of Michael Orland), performs some complex choreography (ably assisted by back-up dancers Adam Vanek and Julius Williams), and shares personal stories that reveal an intriguing intelligence.
Not only is Henner smart, in an appealingly non-nerdy fashion, and wide-awake politically – her “updated” (by her brother Lorin Henner) song lyrics refer to such topics as Tucker Carlson and getting vaccinated – but she is also one of only 12 people documented to have HSAM (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory).
This means she can recall exactly what she was doing on any date of her life and what day of the week it was. This is not a joke. She demonstrates it onstage, with the help of audience participation.
In the first, and far more interesting, of the show’s two acts, Henner takes us through her childhood and the early phases of her performance career. Best-known for her role on the TV sitcom “Taxi,” she also performed in Broadway plays and musicals, including “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” “Chicago,” and “Gettin’ the Band Back Together,” and starred in 68 films, as well as opposite Burt Reynolds on television’s “Evening Shade.”

We learn that Henner grew up in Chicago, where she originated the role of Marty in a local 1971 production of what went on to become the hit Broadway musical “Grease.” When invited to audition for the musical in New York, Henner chose, instead, to go to college, at the University of Chicago.
Henner eventually played Marty on the show’s first national tour and here treats us to an affecting performance of the character’s solo number, “Freddy, My Love,” reminding us that she was the first person to ever sing that song.
Henner’s briskly-paced revue is best appreciated by those old enough to remember her TV shows (the brilliantly-edited series of comic clips from “Taxi” is a hoot) and familiar enough with musical theater to appreciate her “re-imaginings” of famous songs, such as her hilarious tribute to health sung to the tune of “Fiddler on the Roof’s” “Tradition,” skillfully rhyming nutrition, physician, mortician, and remission.
Though it contains two of the evening’s highlights – Henner’s adorable performance of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” and a shocking montage of video clips showing the enormous pain and injuries Henner incurred as a contestant on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” – the show’s second act is weighed down by too much time spent talking about her husbands (she has had three) and an interminable photo montage of still images of her two sons.
Directed by Bob Garrett, Henner’s show is pervaded by a youthful sensibility throughout, and meanders, rather than builds, to a finish. Dramatically, Henner’s “character” has no discernible arc and doesn’t seem to “grow up” or change very much as she ages. At the end, we’re left in want of a more mature perspective as we join with Henner in reflecting back upon her lifetime of entertaining adventures.

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