Instead of drinking tea at the Ritz-Carlton, slaving away on a dinner masterpiece, or delivering Zales’ diamonds while Mom washes babies, my grandma, mother and I all went to San Jose’s American Musical Theatre for Mother’s Day.

We saw the closing performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. After scuttling to our seats while the chimes sounded, the lights of the theatre dimmed in anticipation.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened with a bang – the whole stage, complete with the theatrical version of a lazy Susan, dazzled with splendor. Everything glittered – from the women’s dresses and jewelry to the rich blue curtains and balcony. But my eyes weren’t the only sense infatuated – at once the cast broke out in song.

The premise: an experienced, suave con man, Lawrence Jameson (Tom Hewitt), scams women out of money and jewels at the French Riviera’s prime resort. He is the epitome of sophistication and charm on the stage; his age only adds to his façade. He poses, with the help of the chief of police, Andre Thibault (Drew McVety), as a phony prince of a made up kingdom. By pretending he needs money to finance his campaign to start a revolution, he persuades rich women to donate to his “cause.”

With song numbers like “What Was a Woman To Do?” (music and lyrics by David Yazbek) the characters bring comedy to their confession that when it comes to Jameson, they are helpless for his charm. Jameson’s counterpart is the inexperienced, crude Freddy Benson (D.B. Bonds). Younger than Jameson, eager to learn the art of swindling, and his eyes set on “Great Big Stuff,” (Yazbek) Benson blackmails Jameson into teaching him. Eventually the tutelage morphs into a contest between the two for the use of the Riviera as a playground. The bet is on: get $50,000 from the pretty American “soap queen” and the loser has to leave town.

The two comically battle it out – Benson pretends to be a war veteran in a wheelchair, immobilized not from a stray bomb, but from “dance fever” and a tragic love story. Jameson abandons his preferred prince fantasy in favor of being the “famed” Dr. Schiffhausen – the only one, according to Benson, that can cure him. The two double-cross each other in a hysterical scheme to win the soap queen’s money. Of course with any good con story, there is a surprising twist at the end.

If the story sounds familiar it might be because there is a movie starring Steve Martin as Benson and Michael Caine as Jameson. The musical I saw was actually based on this movie – not the other way around. Instead of trying to replicate the 1988 “classic,” this production cleverly spiced up the story with song. The vocals and jazzy tunes were amazing – from my amateur perspective – and the whole atmosphere created with the set accented them perfectly. I have to say that the colorful array of costumes was my favorite part by far. They were so over-the-top that they matched the “fun and games” attitude, which was perpetuated throughout the performance.

Since I haven’t seen the movie, I can’t judge on the accuracy of its rendition, but I think that it should be taken as a different piece altogether. The piece as a whole left me roaring with laughter – especially one of Jameson’s lines. When he speaks of the defects found in royalty due to inbreeding, he makes jabs at various royal lines. At the end of his tirade, he ends it with this comic reference: and the Bushes of Tex have their dim son.

Deception and swindling don’t exactly relate to Mother’s Day (unless instead of giving her a gift, you con your mother), but overall the three of us enjoyed the performance for its rollicking humor.