On Sunday I spent a couple hours back in the 40s, watching a funny and
extremely well staged new play entitled The Good Steno. Lead
actor/director Paul Ben-Victor cowrote this gem with his mother Leah
Kornfeld Friedman, based on her experiences as a stenographer in the
NYC garment center in 1946.

There are many wacky moments as spunky young "Gloria" (who is
constantly being reminded by the ensemble that she is just a steno, not a
secretary) tries her darndest to make it in the big city. Gloria must fend off
the lecherous Jack at the same time attempting to please her manic boss
Morty, all the while dreaming of Sinatra and Gene Kelly and a movie style
happy ending. Ben-Victor is a crazed bundle of energy as Morty and Louis
Giambalvo manages to make dirty-old-man Jack a likeable kind of guy.
Talented dancer Nick Drago makes a great Gene Kelly, a sultry trio of
actresses (Erin Cummings, Johanna Torell, and Veronica Alicino) portray
models, a mother, and a gypsy, and Andrew Hawkes skillfully morphs into
three very different roles.

The real star of the evening however is discovery Noelle Arzillo as Gloria
(think a blonde Jewish New Yawk Mary Tyler Moore). On stage the entire
play (or so it seemed), Arzillo manages to be both naive and knowing,
cuddly cute and fierce as a tigress. Her "I ain't down yet" spunk is a delight
to watch. Friedman and Ben-Victor really lucked out in finding this quirky
and dynamic young actress to star in their show!
MARCH 2007, HAYWORTH THEATRE, LOS ANGELES.

--Steven Stanley