Rocky has the eye of the tiger at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Jeri Tidwell Photography

In 1976, a low-budget movie about a scrappy boxer from Philadelphia starring a little known actor by the name of Sylvester Stallone became the biggest hit of the year and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing out of ten nominations total. Stallone was supported by veterans like Talia Shire, Burt Young and Burgess Meredith, while Rocky’s nemesis Apollo Creed was played by Carl Weathers, who had been kicking around Hollywood for a few years but this film really kicked his and Stallone’s careers into high gear. Of course the film’s success led to many sequels and a reboot featuring the son of Creed — with Stallone back as Rocky. But less inevitable was the proposition that the movie would be taken to the stage as a musical. But it happened first in Hamburg, Germany in 2012, followed by a brief run on Broadway in 2014 (where it scored four Tony Award nominations, winning one for Best Scenic Design). The show didn’t click with Broadway audiences (to be fair, the Great White Way was stuffed with new shows that year with Aladdin, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder among them, as revivals of Cabaret, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Les Misérables), but it still seems like an odd choice for a movie to musical adaptation.

If you don’t know the story, Rocky Balboa is a guy from Philadelphia who dreams of hitting the big time in the boxing ring like Rocky Marciano. To pay his way through life, he works as a ‘collector’ for a shady dude who isn’t too fond of Rocky’s more ethical means of carrying out his orders (like refusing to break a butcher’s thumbs for not paying what’s due). Rocky fights in small potatoes bouts and loses his locker at the gym because the owner, Mickey, thinks Rocky should find another vocation. But Rocky is a fighter in all senses of the word, even where romance is concerned. Rocky is a fighter and a lover, having had a serious crush on Adrian Pennino since fifth grade. She, however, is a wallflower, a little mouse who would rather hide in her room in her brother Paulie’s apartment and carry out her duties at the local pet store than go out with Rocky or anyone else. But Paulie invites Rocky to Thanksgiving dinner — a surprise to Adrian — and tempers flare over the date ambush. But Rocky manages to talk Adrian out of her room, they go ice skating and a true romance develops. Rocky also gets selected to fight against boxing champion Apollo Creed — who has never lost a fight mainly because his chosen opponents are easy targets — but Mickey doesn’t think he’s ready and Adrian doesn’t want him to get hurt. But Rocky is a fighter and he’d gotta do what he’s gotta do, for himself and for Adrian (with a promised earning of $150,000 win or lose).

Rocky really is a simple story at its core and while it’s essentially about boxing and the big match, it’s really more about the love story between Rocky and Adrian and that’s really where this production — directed by Toby Orenstein & Mark Minnick — succeeds because it’s hard to present a realistic boxing match in a way that none of the actors get injured (but that actually works here too). Key to making this story work is the role of Rocky, played by Patrick Gover making his Toby’s debut. Patrick has the looks and the physique for the role, but he’s also got the heart to carry it off. To say that Rocky isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed is an understatement, but Patrick makes the guy so warm and lovable that you can’t help but root for him. He does a pretty good impression of Stallone’s speaking voice, and he also manages to sing beautifully in that same voice … something we know the real Stallone can’t do based on his singing in the movie Rhinestone. Patrick just makes Rocky so endearing you can’t help but fall in love with him.

Jeri Tidwell Photography

Also making her Toby’s debut is Lydia Gifford as Adrian, making her a really well-rounded character, going from mousy to mouthy after Rocky shows up for the holiday dinner, then stand-offish to romantic with him as their relationship grows, even weathering some turmoil caused by her jealous brother after she spends Christmas Eve with Rocky instead of him. Lydia also has a lovely voice to carry off Adrian’s songs. The only issue is that she is often a bit soft spoken even when singing (but when she belts it out, she’s fantastic), so some of her dialogue and lyrics were hard to hear at times.

Offering able support is Toby’s veteran Robert Biedermann as Mickey (the Burgess Meredith role from the movie), giving Rocky a lot of tough love and heartfelt support when he offers to train Rocky for free. His Mickey is tough but tender and Robert’s performance really brings Mickey to life. Adam Grabau, last seen at Toby’s in a myriad of roles in Spamalot is almost the villain of the piece, more so than Apollo Creed, with his drunken behavior and near violent outbursts toward Adrian and Rocky. But Paulie does eventually experience a change of heart and Grabau makes it believable. The supporting cast is populated with Toby’s stable of regulars including David Bosley-Reynolds, Crystal Freeman, MaryKate Brouillet, Justin Calhoun, Shane Lowry, David James, Jeffrey Shankle, Shawn Kettering and Janine Sunday (terrific as Gloria, Paulie’s sort-of girlfriend). Actors making returns or debuts include Brian Dauglash, Simone Brown, Corey Harris, Ryan Holmes, Kalen Robinson, Ryan Sellers, Gerald Jordan, Patricia ‘Pep’ Targete and Anwar Thomas (and keep in mind many of these cast members play multiple roles).

The direction by Toby Orenstein and Mark Minnick is outatanding, using the in-the-round space of the Toby’s stage to perfection, making sure they do their best to address all four sections of the seating area and making sure they move to specific areas as the amazing stage crew quickly whisk setpieces and props on and off the stage (and the opening of the show which goes from an empty stage to a blackout to a full boxing ring in place within seconds when the lights come back up was amazing). The direction and placement of the actors is also aided greatly by the lighting design by Lynn Joslin. The lighting is used so skillfully to draw your attention to one point of the stage while a new set is being put in place on another. And the scenic design is also terrific. This is a very set-heavy production from the gym, to Rocky’s and Paulie’s apartments, to the pet store to the fight promoter’s office … and we can’t forget the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This really looked like a Herculean effort as far as the scenic design was concerned. The costumes by Janine Sunday are firmly grounded in the era (the show is still set in the same time as the movie), and Justin Calhoun’s fight choreography is pretty convincing for the most part, with both Gover and Jordan really selling each hit they appear to take (some nice slo-mo acting also adds to the effect). If I have any complaints about the production, it’s with the sound (at least at our performance). Gifford is sometimes over-powered by the music (and the Toby’s orchestra under the direction of Ross Scott Rawlings is excellent), but even when just speaking she’s sometimes a bit on the soft side. She needs a mic boost. The final fight scene is also a bit chaotic with the music, the crowd cheering, the spectators singing that it was almost overwhelming aurally. It was just noise at one point (but my hearing is a bit muffed up too so some of that is on me). Fortunately, it doesn’t detract from the action on stage, but I did find it hard to hear the dialogue coming from Rocky’s and Apollo’s corners between rounds. So, a minor-ish complaint but not enough to take away from the show itself.

Rocky does benefit from some really good songs by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens that help move the story along, almost acting more like dialogue set to music. The songs have real meaning to the story. The story itself follows the movie’s script (the book was co-written by Stallone who wrote the movie) without much deviation (so I’m told by a real Rocky fan), but it really is a bit light and uncomplicated. What I appreciate about the direction of the show is that they can hone in on the important moments and really draw them out to make them more important, give them more emotional beats (as Minnick did with his adaptation of Mamma Mia!) so the audience can connect more fully with the story and the characters. I’m not really a fan of the movies — I’ve seen some of the first film once — so I wasn’t sure I was going to be interested in the musical but the direction and the amazing performances, particularly of the leads Gover and Gifford, made this a more engaging show than I expected. Is it my favorite show ever at Toby’s? No, but that’s because of the subject matter, not the production itself. If you’re a fan of the movie, you’ll love the show. If you think a musical version of Rocky isn’t the show for you, it might still be worth considering to enjoy the performances, the music, and the production itself.

Of course there is the food as well. And after a long break, the Toby’s salad bar is back! (Still no make your own sundae bar yet.) I have missed that salad bar so it was a treat to see its return. The main buffet was also fabulous. In addition to the broccoli, vegetable medly, scalloped potatoes, signature Spinach Funque and cheesy macaroni, the dinner buffet for Rocky includes Roasted Brussels Sprouts with a balsamic and honey drizzle. Yum! Let’s keep these on the menu please! There’s also a Philly Cheese Steak Casserole, Chicken Milanese and Baked Tilapia, cheeses, cole salw, seafood salad, steamed shrimp, and the carving board of turkey, ham and roast beef, with chocolate cake or cheesecake for dessert. As with every show, Rocky has a signature special drink called ‘The Italian Stallion’, which is a white chocolate milkshake with Creme de Cacao, topped with whipped cream and candy bits (it also comes in a non-alcoholic version), served in a collectible glass. It was hard to not suck the whole thing down in one gulp.

So, if you’re a fan of Rocky this is the show for you. And if you think this isn’t the show for you, still consider giving it a shot. You just might be surprised by how much you do enjoy it.

Rocky runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. The show runs through June 5. Toby’s next production is The SpongeBob Musical which opens June 10, followed by a special three week return engagement of Spamalot starting August 5.