Adolpho Blaire ’01 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre) is starring in “Little Me” in Southwest Florida, where he plays a total of eight characters all to “comic genius.”
“As a comic character actor and vaudevillian, this role fits me perfectly,” said Blaire. “I sing, I dance, I act, I clown. I even do four consecutive cartwheels!”
One review stated: “Adolpho Blaire, who for years has made Naples audiences smile and laugh, sets the theatre ablaze with unparalleled comedy chops…. Is there anything [Blaire] can’t do?”
The Neil Simon-Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh-Bob Fosse musical debuted on Broadway in 1962 as a star vehicle for Sid Caesar. Combining Caesar with his former “Your Show of Shows” writer, Neil Simon, allowed the show to be a series of sketches where Caesar played all the men in the leading lady character Belle Poitrine’s life. It was revived in 1982 on Broadway with Victor Garber and James Coco and then again in 1998 starring Martin Short (who won the Tony Award for Best Actor). It was also produced for City Center Encores in 2014, starring Christian Borle. The best known songs from the show include “The Other Side of the Tracks,” “Real Live Girl” and “I’ve Got your Number.”
The production is presented by Naples’s premier musical theatre organization, TheatreZone, a venue that often presents under-produced and forgotten musicals. Over the years, the company has presented titles such as “Sweet Smell of Success,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “High Society,” “I Love My Wife,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “Me and My Girl,” “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever,” “Legs Diamond,” “Mack and Mabel,” “Blood Brothers,” The Boy from Oz” and “Chess.”
