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Quick! If you get moving right now you can get to New
York to see this oft-times fun musical that opened last week before it
closes in a crash and burn of awesome proportions this Sunday. (Even
The Times They Are A-Changin',
which crashed last month, lasted over four weeks!) You may not understand
exactly why it has failed so spectacularly when the lights come up at
intermission. You may say to yourself (or anyone who will listen): "Well,
its not great but surely its good enough to last into the new year
sometime." But then the lights go down and somehow musical theater
ineptitude takes hold, delivering a mixture of lame parodies or imitations
of rock-sub-culture music, major pop stars (a Bruce Springstein
impersonation that goes on and on and on) and a newly found preference for
scatological humor over wit. Still, you'll be glad you saw it (the first
half, that is).
Storyline: A rock-tinged musical based on the book and movie about the owner
of a store selling vintage rock records of the vinyl variety whose break-up
with his girlfriend of long standing triggers memories of his five all time worst break-ups of his thus-far short life. Will
this latest breakup supplant one from that list and become "Number Five With
A Bullet?"
The product of the creative team seems so
promising at first. This, the first book for a musical by David Lindsay-Abaire
(Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World) moves clearly and
cleanly from plot point to personality and back again. It provides creative
songs spots for first-time Broadway composer Tom Kitt and librettist Amanda
Green, who wrote additional lyrics for the Arena Stage revival of
Hallelujah Baby
score her father Adolph Green wrote with Betty Comden. Director Walter
Bobbie (Chicago, Footloose, Sweet
Charity) moves the package along briskly while focusing your attention
to just the right places at just the right times. There's a cleverly
functional set that morphs quickly from the apartments to the record store
and back as the story progresses, and there is an energetic, chipper cast
creating distinct characters in most of the roles.
So what goes wrong? The concept of dipping into the
musical milieu of the rock/rap/grunge sub-culture tastes of the denizens of
this specialty record store takes the show in directions that torpedo the
style of the first half. With a lengthy (or at least it seemed lengthy)
repeat gag in which the same scene is played over and over again separated
by blackouts and the sound of a rewinding record, the piece begins to feel
desperate. Then we are called upon to believe that the hero's hero would be
"The Boss" Bruce Springsteen - surely too mainstream a musical star for this
record-store owner who is fascinated by the obscure and arcane in the music
world. The cast is headed by Will Chase and Jenn Colella. She's a chipper
presence and sells her bits with a touch of class. With a closing notice
already posted, Chase was out on the evening we attended even though the
audience contained a large number of reviewers, Tony voters and industry
insiders who wanted to catch the show before it closed.
All of that aside, however, when a
multi-million dollar project like this (who knows the actual price tag - $10
million?) throws in the towel and posts a closing notice less than a week
after opening night, it isn't the reviews or even the word of mouth that is
to blame. Its the marketing that failed to find a source of ticket buyers
and tap that source to get an advance sufficient to keep the show afloat, at
least through the holiday season when demand for seats at all shows takes a
bump. Broadway is a superstitious place - just listen to Mel Brooks' lyrics
to "You Never Say Good Luck On Opening Night" - and we wouldn't want to
spawn a new forbidden act. But even Max Bialystock might have balked at
opening a new show on Pearl Harbor Day!
Music by Tom Kitt. Lyrics by Amanda Green. Book by David
Lindsay-Abaire. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby and the movie. Directed by
Walter Bobbie. Choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Music direction by
Adam Ben-David. Orchestrations by Tom Kitt and Alex Lacamoire. Design: Anna
Louizos (set) Theresa Squire (costumes) Ken Billington (lights) Acme Sound
Partners (sound). Cast: Christian Anderson, Justin Brill, Jeb Brown, Andrew
C. Call, Matt Caplan, Will Chase, Jenn Colella, Jay Klaitz, Caren Lyn
Manuel, Rachel Stern, Emily Swallow, John Patrick Walker, Anne Warren,
Kirsten Wyatt.
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