By Rosemary Ford , Staff Writer
Theater review"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"3.5 stars out of 5Some men just make it easy to love them - or love to hate them.Freddy and Lawrence are two such men.They make their living conning rich and lonely women out of huge sums of money. Steve Martin and Michael Caine made the duo famous in the 1988 movie, and now D.B. Bonds and Tom Hewitt bring the characters to the stage in the production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at Boston's Opera House through Sunday, March 18.The movie mined comic gold in the pairing of Martin and Caine. The pair made the film a little silly and a little witty - a seductive mixture for an heiress with an overstuffed wallet or an audience in search of some guilty fun.The stage version of "Scoundrels," complete with corny songs rhyming Oklahoma and melanoma (the leading cause of death there, according to the song), skews more silly than witty.If you've seen the movie, the stage production holds few surprises. In this case, the fun lies in the guilty pleasure of watching these characters poke fun of themselves, the story and the guy sitting in seat J15 (poor soul).The plot of "Scoundrels," set on France's Riviera, follows Lawrence, a masterful con man masquerading as a prince in need of funding for a revolution. He romances women who can afford to make a sizable donation to his cause. On a train he meets Freddy, a brasher, younger grifter with lower standards, expectations and paydays.Freddy quickly identifies Lawrence as the master he wants to learn from, and the two embark on an uneasy partnership.This team lasts until competition gets the better of them, and each tries to outdo the other in a bid for a soap heiress' fortune.It's not exactly high theater, but you can't help but enjoy the journey of laughs these two male leads take you on.While there's something in both performances to remind you of Caine and Martin, there's also something unique in both Bonds' and Hewitt's portrayals of these characters - like Freddy's bootylicious rap solo or Lawrence's funky song of love to his "brother" Freddy. Both actors do a fine job with these roles.As the soap heiress Christine, Laura Marie Duncan doesn't get a lot of chances to be interesting until the end of the show. However Drew McVety as the French chief of police (and first partner of Lawrence) and Hollis Resnik as one of Lawrence's rich conquests steal the show as an unlikely romantic couple.Beyond these good performances, it's important to acknowledge the fantastic and mobile set used in this show. Designers used a few well-made stone sculptures and fun doorways on a rotating disc to keep the set and the action lively. It was quite well done.Though this show has a lot worthy of recommendation, there's one thing to make note of: There are some adult situations and more than a few swear words uttered in the course of this musical. It might be best to leave the little ones at home.This show is, however, perfectly OK for grown-ups - just try to stay out of seat J15 and leave most of your money in a safe place.If you go * What: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels * When: Through March 18 * Where: The Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston * How: Tickets are $30 to $90. Available at the box office, through Ticketmaster.com or by calling 617-931-2787.
