“Fiorello!,”
Book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Showing: TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., through June 15
Tickets: $15-$30
Contact: (773) 281-8463; timelinetheatre.com

By Louis Weisberg

Contributing writer

This remounting of TimeLine Theatre Company’s award-winning 2006 production of “Fiorello!” is a joyful reminder that it doesn’t take a massive stage and a Broadway budget to create great entertainment. TimeLine’s “Fiorello!” is well worth a second look, especially given the timely relevance of its political story.

One of only seven musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize, “Fiorello!” chronicles the rise to power of legendary New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Half Jewish, half Italian and all chutzpah, the pint-sized LaGuardia was a populist reformer whose 1934 mayoral election marked the end of the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine’s reign over the Big Apple.

“Fiorello!,” which premiered in 1959, gives LaGuardia the sort of heroic, sentimentalized treatment that was characteristic of those times. But writers George Abbott (“The Pajama Game,” “Damn Yankees,” “Pal Joey” and “On the Town”) and Jerome Weidman (“I Can Get It for You Wholesale”) were among the best of their ilk—experts at wringing cheers and tears from an audience. In “Fiorello!,” they got a big boost from composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick (the team responsible for “Fiddler on the Roof”), who give a delightfully tongue-in-cheek treatment to graft and backroom political deals. Imagine the antics of Todd Stroger and his Cook County Board cronies set to catchy tunes and witty lyrics, and you have a pretty good idea of how much of “Fiorello” plays.

Many inspired touches combine to make this production a standout. For instance, having newsreels of LaGuardia projected onto laundry hanging from back alley clotheslines is a great way of grounding the audience in time and place. The brilliantly designed, intricately detailed set by Kevin Hagan uses vertical space to great effect, allowing the cast literally to sing from the rafters.

TimeLine artistic director PJ Powers seems born to play the title role. He exudes charisma and self-certainty, but he also manages to penetrate LaGuardia’s public mask to find glimmers of tenderness and pain. As the lovelorn Marie, LaGuardia’s longtime secretary and second wife, veteran songster Rebecca Finnegan turns in a surprisingly subdued and beautifully nuanced performance.

The ensemble is terrific, particularly Terry Hamilton as political boss Ben Marino and his bevy of political hacks, played by Steve Best, Andy Nagraj, Joe Savino, Dan Loftus and Thomas M. Shea. These guys are so perfectly cast that I’m suspicious they were pulled out of offices at Chicago City Hall and coerced to do this play as part of a plea bargain in a corruption case.

Maris Hudson is delightful as the sweet but slow-witted Dora. Her number “I Love a Cop” is one of the show’s highlights. Donica Lynn as Mizzi raises goosebumps with her full-throated rendition of “Gentleman Jimmy.”

The cast is supported by an amazing four-piece band led by pianist Brandon Magid. Its members manage to produce a sound that’s several times larger than their number would have you expect.