I have returned from Lady in the Dark. It's an interesting piece, to say the least. The story is about Liza Elliott, a successful businesswoman who, overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety, seeks a cure for her ills by visiting a psychiatrist. LitD opened in 1941, so I imagine placing psychoanalysis at the center of a play--a musical no less--was rather startling at the time. Over the course of her visits to the doctor, Miss Elliott describes several surreal dreams. These dreams--and one flashback--are depicted on stage and serve as the primary musical numbers in this vehicle.
The book is by Moss Hart and, to be kind, it is talky and arid. Complicating matters is that it was quite apparent that the lion's share of Musical Theatre Guild's extremely limited rehearsal time went to the musical numbers, so the long stretches of book were staged in rather static fashion and there was heavy reliance by the actors on their scripts. I yearned for the talking to stop and the dream sequences to begin.
These sequences, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, are rather complex musically. Since they are surreal, there are jumps in style and Gershwin had the chance to create some wild lyrics here and there. The best known songs from the the show (to me, at least) are "My Ship," "The Saga of Jenny" and "Tschaikowsky." I never heard "This is New" until tonight, and why it has not become a standard I cannot fathom, as it is a beautiful song.
The performances ranged from OK to good. Miss Eileen Barnett, as Liza Elliott (a role originated by Miss Gertrude Lawrence) came off stronger in the musical numbers than she did in the book sections. Mr. Richard Israel, whose character sings "Tschaikowsky," was no Mr. Danny Kaye. (Mr. Kaye sang the song in the original production and this play provided him his big break.) There was an on-stage eleven-piece orchestra that played well.
Musical Theatre Guild announced their 2004-2005 season tonight: My Favorite Year, Redhead, Roberta, Sail Away and the LaChiusa The Wild Party.
The degree of success of the productions at Musical Theatre Guild can vary wildly, in terms of the quality of the properties being mounted and the on-stage performances. When they hit their mark, as they've done in a number of shows I've seen there, it makes sitting through the "misses" worth it. With Reprise! doing the glossy work they've been doing for a while now, MTG serves an excellent purpose in the world of musical theatre here in Los Angeles.