WONDERFUL TOWN – REVIVAL
When a musical show has not been translated to film, and its original production was over 50 years ago, it rarely has to withstand comparisons; however, the original “Wonderful Town” was my introduction to Broadway – my local Philly church group did an outing to NYC to see the show with Rosalind Russell
When on Saturday last we ventured into what was once the Martin Beck theatre, I was wondering if my delightful memories of 50+ years would be recreated. (So, see, I now have an “I dare-you” bias before I even sit down!)
When the curtain goes up, we are treated to vast array of musicians assembled on a raised platform across the entire rear 5/8s of the stage Alarms go off! Am I going to be treated to a “minimalist” staging on the apron and end up with Mini-WT? ) Or are they going to relocate the Orchestra for the balance of the show.
Orchestra stays put, “Christoper Street” begins. “Ohio” is delightful, but by the time we end the fourth number, “One Hundred Easy Ways, one thing is clear – Donna Murphy is no Roz Russell! She’s good, very, good, excellent – but Roz was genius. Clearly Donna out-sings Roz, but can not reach the zany physical comedy that Russell put into the original performance.
I suspect some of the problem was directorial discretion – Roz definitely chewed up some lines that Donna is left to simply deliver believably: a motley crew has aggregated in the girls’ apartment where Eileen is preparing pasta; Ruth looks at all the newcomers and expounds: “You know for a bad location, and no neon signs, we’re doing a hell of a business!” Back in the Eisenhower days Roz delivered this line with a gusto that presaged Momma Rose. Murphy gives us Patricia Heaton.
Oh, well, one line does not a show make.
As Act I progressed I started to become aware of a considerable amount of underscoring I didn’t recall from days of yore. Somehow the musical numbers seemed to flow together better than before.
Suddenly it dawned on me! The star of this production is Leonard Bernstein! The score is in deed, front and center. We have a complete wall of delightfully complex and varied orchestrations filling the theatre for most of the time. There were over 23 musicians on that stage, there was little or no physical barrier between them and the audience, and they rarely rested long enough for a reed to get dry. The sound design was perfection. In “A Quiet Girl”, Gregg Edelman starts the song softly downstage; he moves up onto the platform supporting the orchestra and we are treated to the song’s ending with Gregg, backed by the full orchestra in play, coming in clear as a bell. We were in the Mezzanine, yet the sound had an almost three-dimensional quality – you could pick Gregg out as the instrument in front. In case there was any doubt, after intermission we were treated to an extended “Entr’acte introducing Act II. I stopped worrying about Roz and started getting engrossed with the music. (JoseS would be proud!)
Occasionally I grumble about color-blind casting in historical pieces – there were likely no black cops in the Irish Police Brigade in Greenwich Village 1935! Well the opening number of Act II is “My Darlin’ Eileen” – a full multipart harmony Irish Barbershop routine for the cops. Toward the end, one of the black cops steps forward and in a crystal clear tenor solos in a perfect Irish brogue – damn near brought down the house. The choreographer also had fun at the end of the number when the cops lined up across the stage and did a “Riverdance” Irish Line Dance jig.
Lesson Learned: Old Memories should be cherished, but must not be allowed to detract from current pleasures.
der "Glad-he saw-it" Brucer
