Reviewed by Judy Richter
Set in Chicago in 1928, most of the action takes place in a clock shop founded by an immigrant couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fail. After the couple's death in an accident near the Chicago River several years earlier, their eldest daughter, Gertrude (Megan Pearl Smith), took over the shop with the assistance of her sisters, Jenny June (Liz Sklar), the middle one; and Nelly (Kathryn Zdan), the youngest. Zdan also is the show's choreographer.
They live upstairs from the shop with their brother, John N. (Patrick Kelly Jones), whom Jenny June found as an infant along the river. Unlike his outgoing sisters, John N. is more comfortable with animals than people. He befriends animals like a snake, a dog and some birds, all represented by puppets.
The love stories start with the arrival of Mortimer Mortimer (Brian Herndon), a brash investor who courts Nelly. On their wedding day, though, she dies in a freak accident near the river.
Mortimer then turns his sights on Jenny June, an avid swimmer who hopes to become the first woman to swim across Lake Michigan. Death ends that relationship, too.
It also ends the next relationship with Gertrude, leaving Mortimer and John N. living out their final years together in the apartment above the shop.
Hence the play is about romantic love, sibling love and friendship love, all related by an engaging cast.
Running about two hours without intermission, the play is noteworthy for familiar tunes like "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" as well as airs composed by music director and sound designer Chris Houston. The versatile actors play musical instruments ranging from piano and string bass to trombone and percussion.
The set by Nina Ball could be regarded as a character itself. It's an ornate grid hung with the instruments and clocks of all sorts. When the clocks strike the hour, the actors imitate the sounds like gongs and cuckoos. It's great fun.
As so inventively staged by Jasson Minadakis, the show is filled with such delightful touches, thanks also to costumes by Jacqueline Firkins.