`Front Page’ opens season with a bang

“The Front Page” has been a popular play since it first hit Broadway in 1928. Written by former reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, the farcical story about wily newspapermen has garnered acclaim through the years both on stage and in four film versions.

A lively revival of the stage play opens the season at Penobscot Theatre this week, and proves that this behind-the-scenes look at journalists has been long-lived for good reason. “Front Page” is solid American theater, filled with romance, intrigue, irreverence, and humor. Though mostly a throwback to the old days of smoke-filled newsrooms and ties yanked loose by dead-line pressure, the comedy is also pertinent because of its election-year theme and muckraking characters.

The plot is a relatively straightforward expose of the corruption in government and the media, and, caperish though it may be, the story has few surprises. But the production, with a 24-member cast and some pretty tricky techinical demands (like a tableful of ringing telephones and off-stage sound effects), is a massive undertaking for director Mark Torres. In his Bangor debut, however, Torres delivers a show that’s as reliably entertaining and neatly put together as a good ol’ black-and-white film you might watch on a local channel some rainy Sunday afternoon.

The action of the show takes place around the imminent hanging of Earl Williams, a red menace whose death is expected to shore up the electoral victory of the crooked mayor. The show is also intimately about hot-shot newsman Hildy Johnson, who stops by the press room long enough to quit his job at the Examiner, announce his upcoming marriage, and say goodbye before boarding a train to New York City. But the departure is not so easy for Hildy, a died-in-the-wool reporter, and he gets snagged by a news hook that could make or break his career — and his engagement.

Despite the uneven acting talent in this large cast, the show is tremendously successful because the principle players are wonderfully skilled performers. New Yorker John Clancy as Hildy has the pesky energy of a hooligan, the quick and sugary charm of a salesman, and the control of a seasoned actor. It’s safe to say that Clancy really throws himself into this role as he leaps over banisters, chairs, and people throughout the evening. Andrea L. Galyean, as Hildy’s fiancee, is docile in comparison, but looks the part and generally brings a brightness to the stage.

Tina Young cross-dresses for the role of Sheriff Hartman, a brisk, high-strung cop who likes to throw his weight around. Wearing a red nose, gesturing with a cigar, and using cartoony slapstick moves, Young is like a miniature W.C. Fields, and nearly as funny. In Act II, Young and Kent C. McKusick (as the mayor) take comic flight with a hilarious high-anxienty run around of words. McKusick, whose every movement is filled with the craftiness of his crookedness, manages the role nicely in other scenes, too.

Eugene J. Tierney plays the unscrupulous managing editor Walter Burns, and takes on a larger-than-life quality with his booming voice and imposing movements. William Mackaness, as the persnickety hypochondriac Bensinger, is thankfully understated and natural on stage.

In brief appearances, Michael T. Vicious (as the gangster Diamond Louie), Melissa Hughes (as the ruffled Mrs. Grant), and Leslie Adams (as the spirited Molly Malloy) do laudable character work. Philip Hedges, as the unaffected and daft Pincus, is simply side-splitting.

The “fine bunch of gentlemen” who make up the press room staff — John-Paul Veilleux, James A. Sturtevant, Eric Chase, Francis Grey, Nikitas Brountas and Barney Smith — are, for the most part, too young for the roles of hardcore newsmen, but they keep the place abuzz with their smart alecky slurs and energetic attacks.

“The Front Page” will be performed 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 1 at the Penobscot Theatre, 185 Main St., Bangor. For tickets, call 942-3333.