Hotel C’est L’Amour is a must for lovers of inventive musical theater and/or the
challenging but beautiful songs of Michael John LaChiusa.

Great cast (Rick Cornette, Jennifer Malenke, America Oliva, Vicki Lewis, Daren
A. Herbert), wonderful band, sharp direction by Daniel Henning, who with
LaChiusa strung together the couple dozen song to tell a love story without
dialog.  Cornette and Malenke, newlyweds, arrive at the honeymoon suite of
the Hotel C’est L’Amour, where they are greeted by a Japanese
chambermain (improbably but beautifully embodied by redheaded sensation
Lewis) and hotel employee Herbert. When sultry temptress Oliva pops in (to
their imagination?), this honeymoon takes an unexpected turn. 

Cornette has everything a musical theater leading man needs—looks, voice,
acting talent, and Malenke is incandescently lovely, giving one of the finest
performances of the year.  Lewis, known primarily for her TV sitcom work, is a
sensational comedienne and big voiced belter.  Oliva, of the singing group
Soluna, proves herself far more than just a member of a girlgroup, and Herbert
(outstanding in the Blank’s recent The Wild Party) is also a musical theater
talent to watch. This is one hotel you’ll be glad to check in to.
OCTOBER 2006, THE BLANK THEATRE, HOLLYWOOD.

--Steven Stanley