Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical

Phoenix Theatre Company Hardes Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, March 8, 2026

Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards

PTC’s Hardes Theatre sports three rows of tables and chairs in front of several risers or seats making it the most intimate of their three busy performance spaces. When they are not producing or presenting cabaret, a two-person musical with piano, bass, and drums is the next best thing available. Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman were long-time fans of Clooney, and this show’s first iteration took place at a New Works Festival at the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, Ohio in 2010. Clooney’s story is told through conversations with her therapist, whom she refers to as Doc. I believe this creative approach precedes the development of A Beautiful Noise, which also used it and perhaps borrowed it successfully. Tenderly is much more than a nostalgic jukebox musical; it is a dark story of ambition, addiction, recovery, and resilience.

There is much to praise here, starting with the casting of Gina Guarino as Clooney. I first fell in love with her talent in 2023 when I reviewed her in two shows at the PTC Festival of New American Works. I wrote a paragraph about her “powerful vocal range,” “acting chops able to capture a character’s angst and conflict,” and added “She gave me goosebumps.” Guarino did not in any way remind me of Rosemary Clooney physically. That was until I saw her in a blond wig and period costume, which completely transformed her into the songstress (1928-2002) whose career started when she was only 13.

Guarino took us through all those years mastering just the right voice for her age in each scene all the way to the final one where she played Clooney as older, heavier, but finally mentally healthy. Her voice was best when she was driven by a character’s situation, as in “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (Nat King Cole/Irving Mills) where she was confronted by the morals clause in her contract in “Come On-a My House.” In that one she recreated Clooney’s mental breakdown in a Reno lounge at a time when she was addicted to pills and was traumatized by witnessing the recent assassination of her friend Bobby Kennedy. Guarino does not just stop and sing a song; she lives it. When she sang “Tenderly” (Walter Gross/Jack Lawrence) about being in love with José Ferrer, there were no rounded tones, just the on-pitch, straightforward sound foretelling the unhappy ending of their marriage. The final song, “This Old House” (Stuart Hamblen) hinted of the lung cancer that would finally take Clooney’s life.

Tony Blosser played Doc as well as other characters in Clooney’s life, including her mother, sister, husband José Ferrer, lover Dante DiPaulo, and friends Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. It was a tough group of parts, and he succeeded most of the time. Because Sinatra and Crosby are so well known, some vocal coaching might have helped improve the believability that goes beyond just the signature pipe or fedora. He shined as Dante DiPaolo, Clooney’s early lover and final husband, as he danced and sang with her to “Botcha-a-Me” (Eddie Stanley/Luigi Astore) and “Mambo Italiano” (Bob Merrill). In addition to Doc, Blosser also played José Ferrer as her suave, cheating husband who wooed her into not just one but two marriages and fathered her five children. Their duo version of “Sway” (Norman Gimbel/Pablo Betltrân Ruiz) was a highlight.

Douglas Clarke’s set design was anchored by what looked like a quilted background and was in perfect synch with Nathaniel White’s lighting. It made for a period nightclub, home, and radio station and integrated the three musicians. The show itself has been reviewed many times, and kudos go to its creators and director. This was its premiere at Phoenix Theatre Company and a good choice for the Hardes Theatre.

With the addition of the Stephenson Theatre bar/lounge, which relieves the crowded first-floor bar, PTC is a great place to go for an early drink or nosh. Million Dollar Quartet just closed, and Daddy Long Legs opens next in the Hormel Theatre. Come from Away, which is superb, runs through March in the Stephenson, and Tenderly runs through May 3, 2026.