Let’s face it: We musical theatre fans are groupies – no disrespect in that designation. We go to see new shows hoping to witness favored performers as they outdo themselves yet again, and also to scout out up-and-comers, whom we’ll then follow just as assiduously.
Theatre-goers who favor musicals derived from popular movies constitute a subspecies. If one may generalize, they want a product that cleaves pretty closely to the source material, ideally with some original songs and witty dialogue thrown in. Novel twists to the plot? Not so much. Thus, for those of us who attend shows hoping to be ushered through challenging, uncharted situations, these reenactments can be a bit of a bore.
London-based director Jeremy Herrin does his utmost to pep up this musicalized revenant of the hit 2000 movie. Cameron Crowe, the original author/protagonist (it’s based on his own teenage quest) wrote the book and co-crafted the lyrics with composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). They’ve worked in a few amusing allusions to the limitations of pre-internet communications, so there’s that, in terms of novelty. Kudos are also due the skilled contributors who concretize the narrative in 3D: clever, adaptable set by Derek McLane, period (1973) costumes by David Zinn, evocative lighting by Natasha Katz (that thunderstorm!), just-short-of-deafening sound by Peter Hylenski.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
Two Broadway newbies assume the leads. Casey Likes is absolute perfection as “William Miller,” the Crowe-inspired babe-in-the-rock-world-woods. He exudes youthful energy, channeling it into a powerful voice capable of every coloration. In contrast, the casting of Solea Pfeiffer as the community muse (and more) Penny Lane, simply mystifies me. Perhaps Pfeiffer will grow into the role, but on press night the charisma that should infuse the role was nowhere to be found. She’s a competent singer, but as yet that’s as far as it goes. Also, hair designers Campbell Young Associates have done her no favor with an inert mop of long, dirty-looking, mud-brown curls – a look not much prized in the early ’70s. This alpha groupie needs to exude intrinsic, indisputable glamour. Also missing is any sense of the exceptional good-heartedness that supposedly underlies Penny Lane’s allure.
About that word, groupie. The trio of “Band-Aids” who look up to Lane as their leader, repeatedly protest that they’re in it purely out of love for the music, and not for the shared limelight or – let’s be more honest than they – prestige sex. They do, however, pair off with members of the band – the fictitious “Stillwater” – at every opportunity. They also conspire to initiate William, as a group. William is fifteen – a vulnerable minor, from our evolving modern perspective. The backslaps he earns are also discomfiting.
All but buried, when it’s a key turning point, is a scene in which the musicians, about to leave town, hand over rights to their bedmates to an incoming band, to settle a gambling debt. This is evidently a major eye-opener for William, but it’s quickly passed over – lost in the shuffle.
Chris Wood, as the band’s lead singer, skews James Taylorish, in voice and manner as well as looks, but he makes an interesting foil for the band’s egomaniacal lead singer (Drew Gehling, lithe and hilarious). Rob Coletti puts in intermittent appearances as William’s grudging long-distance mentor, Lester Bangs: he nails every withering line.
As for Anika Larsen as William’s super-strict mother? She’s a professor: she may be old-school, but she’s not dumb. Every appearance leaves one wanting more. Mrs. Miller, the Musical? It’s a thought.
