The economic climate being what it is, you could argue there’s a layer of preposterous 
fantasy inherent to the tales of Horatio Alger. The 19th century writer’s stories are all essentially the same: Plucky homeless orphan goes from rags to riches powered by nothing but his (Alger’s is a boys' world) wits and All-American Gumption. Today, such a transformation seems about as likely as a major regional theater taking a chance on a brand new musical.Oh, wait.
Applause to the Marriott Theatre for giving “The Bowery Boys,” David Bell’s musical take on Horatio Alger, a world premiere of terrific production values and a robust cast. “Boys” needs some work – the plot is convoluted, the first act is sluggish – but it’s a pleasurable antidote to all those producers who would rather foist the 500th revival of “Grease” on audiences than try something new.
With Bell’s book and lyrics and Jeremy Cohen’s pleasant score (which delightfully echoes Georg M. Cohan’s “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and “Give My Regards to Broadway”) , “The Bowery Boys” doesn’t approach the sublime realms of Sondheim or the soaring 
tunesmithery of Rodgers and Hammerstein, But then, it isn’t trying to. This is a show where shades of grey between good and bad have no place. In 1880s New York, the Tammany boys are conniving thugs, the Bowery boys are golden-hearted innocents and there’s nary a doubt about who will wind up on top by the big finale.
Cohen’s music has a Gee-Whiz spunkiness to it, a quality that lightens and brightens the harsh cruelties inherent to a story about homeless kids trying not to starve on skid row. Despite the bug-infested flop house where the kids sleep (when they’re lucky), muckraking photographer Jacob Riis would find little to photograph here.
Moreover, there’s no denying the humor written into the bad guys. One of the biggest laughs comes from a Tammany operative you can imagine Patrick Fitzgerald hauling off to the hoosegow: “You want in? You gotta buy in. We’re the government for God’s sakes,” the crook snarls in a hilariously ripped-from-the-headlines moment.
In all, the villains are a lot more interesting than the likable but bland leads (Brian Sears as the entrepreneurial Dick and Morgan Weed, a sort of Eponine-lite as the refined immigrant lass Mary.)
“Yer sister’s one big bundle of bad,” says government henchman 
Roughhouse (Jeffrey Baumgartener, one big bundle of hoodlum) to his boss Kid Twist (Jeff Dumas, deliciously weasley). He’s talking about the hard-as-nails, morally flexible Nanny Mae. The part is miscast – Lesley Bevan is all pristine and porcelain in a role that calls for the exact opposite – but Bell’s dialogue makes it clear that this is character you love to hate.
If the show has a life beyond the Marriott, Matt Raftery’s choreography should go with it. Drawing on influences from Irish step-dancing to tin-pan alley tap, the boffo dance numbers propel the piece along even when the book lags.
It’s a spirited show, and enough to make one forgive the Marriott for dusting off “Nunsense” earlier this year.
“The Bowery Boys” continues through Feb. 15 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire. Tickets are $45, with $55 dinner theater packages available. For more information, call 847/634-0200 or go to www.marriotttheatre.com
Photos courtesy of the Marriott Theatre.
Top: Brian Raftery's choreography is among the production's strengths.
Middle: Brian Sears (left) and Jeff Dumas.
Bottom: Morgan Weed (left) and Brian Sears.
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