'Oil City Symphony' showcases range of talent

A "triple threat" is an entertainer who is proficient at singing, dancing and acting — an abundantly talented human who inspires awe in mere mortals. Think Kristin Chenoweth.

If Chenoweth is a triple threat, then Mary Murfitt, who sings, dances, acts, directs, plays musical instruments and writes, must be a sextuple threat.

When her show, "Oil City Symphony," opens in previews at Hanesbrands Theatre on Friday, Murfitt will be on hand with co-writer Mike Craver to talk about the musical play/recital. She will co-star in the show's run through Feb. 19.

Hanesbrands is being transformed into a high-school gym for "Oil City," and the characters, four 1960s graduates, will reunite to give a concert in honor of their beloved teacher, Miss Reeves.

The amateur musicians, now middle-aged, take the audience on a tour of every musical genre from classical piano to Top 40. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," "The Hokey-Pokey," "Exodus" and Verdi's "Anvil Chorus" are among the play's 20 songs. About half of the songs in "Oil City" are original.

"The whole thing was created in such a spirit of fun," Murfitt said. "We were remembering the teachers that we had, remembering the terror that recitals brought on. We always end up going, 'Do you remember …?' "

Written by Murfitt, Craver, Debra Monk and the late Mark Hardwick, "Oil City" ran from 1987 to 1989 for more than 600 performances at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre Downtown. It won the Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical.

The Festival Stage production includes two of the four original cast members and co-creators: Murfitt, who is directing as well as performing, and Craver, who also composed music and performed in last season's Festival Stage show "Lunch at the Piccadilly." Randy Glass, taking the part of Hardwick, and Molly Wassermann in the role created by Monk, have performed with Murfitt and Craver in several productions of "Oil City."

"The characters have come together to honor Miss Reeves for all she's done for us," Murfitt said. Although Miss Reeves is a composite of high school music teachers and not a real person, she still makes her presence felt in every performance, Murfitt said.

The writers grew up in small towns and each wrote his or her character's back story. Hardwick came from Texas. Craver is from North Carolina (Lexington). Monk is from Virginia, and Murfitt grew up in Kansas.

"Now that we're in Mike's neck of the woods, I get to see where his information comes from," Murfitt said.

Despite her many tasks, Murfitt said that doing the show is a pleasure.

"With 'Oil City,' I've done it quite a few times like this. It's a comfortable space for me to be in," she said. "We know the best way to get it up quickly, so it makes it relatively easy.

"I love writing. I love acting. The directing part is mostly technical. It's a recital setting. There's just one costume for each performer, but that costume says tons about the character.

As in "Pump Boys and Dinettes," also co-written by Hardwick and Monk, the actors are the band. Glass plays piano and accordion. Wassermann is on drums and percussion. Murfitt plays violin, flute and saxophone. Craver plays synthesizer and piano.

Usually, performers strive to make their work look effortless, but the cast of "Oil City" takes a different approach.

"Once you get drums, everybody has to be amplified," Murfitt said. "We try to make it look technically difficult. The Oil City Symphony wouldn't have wireless mics."

When asked about some of the song choices, such as "Exodus," Murfitt said that, "Mike and Mark were doing these duo-piano things inspired by Ferranti & Teicher." Ferranti & Teicher were famous pianists in the 1960s.

Early in the show's development, some Christmas songs had to come out so it could be done in January, Murfitt said. The group was playing music and improvising.

"We were messing around in a rehearsal room, and Debra Monk said that whenever she feels frustrated, she just does 'The Hokey Pokey,' so they all did it. Afterward, Mark looked at his watch and said, 'There's 10 minutes' — just the right length to replace the Christmas songs."

"The Hokey Pokey" is a crowd favorite, Murfitt said.