Frank Loesser's most popular and frequently produced musical
Guys and Dolls is currently playing at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in a big, splashy, "fantastically fun" production, full of jaw-dropping dance numbers and catchy familiar songs. But for the next few weeks you also have a rare chance to see his lesser-known musical
The Most Happy Fella receive the opposite treatment - meaning quiet and intimate and exquisitely lovely. As much as I love a big splashy musical, I have a special place in my heart for a Ten Thousand Things production of a musical, which like all of their worked is stripped down to reveal the truth and heart of the piece, but for musicals also features stripped down music that's unamplified in an intimate space, and gorgeously pure. This is my third experience with
The Most Happy Fella, and my favorite to date. This version really touched me; it's such a sweet and hopeful story about love, friendship, community, and finding happiness in life, even if it looks different from what you expected. It's also incredibly timely and relevant in its centering of stories about "women, elders, immigrants, and the working class" (as noted by TTT Artistic Director Caitlin Lowans). But the word is already out - many performances have already sold out and others are close to it, so
get your tickets now to experience this lovely classic musical the way that only TTT can do it! (Continuing at Open Book this weekend, Hennepin United Methodist Church next weekend, with best availability at the Capri Theater and 825 Arts the following weekends, through June 7).
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the townspeople (Julia Diaz and Maje Adams) welcome Rosabella
(Suzie Juul), with Joe (Sasha Andreev, photo courtesy of TTT) |
Nominated for multiple Tony Awards in 1957 (but losing out big time to
My Fair Lady, tough competition),
The Most Happy Fella was based on a play from the 1920s called
They Knew What They Wanted, about an Italian immigrant winemaker in California's Napa Valley who leaves a note and a piece of jewelry for his waitress in the big city of "Frisco." A bit advanced in age, Tony decides it's finally time for him to marry and start a family, and even though he doesn't know her, he proposes to the waitress, whom he calls Rosabella because he's too afraid to ask her name. This being the 1920s, a sweet written courtship ensues, and Rosabella (not her real name) decides to leave her job, her home, and everything she knows to make a new life with this man in the country. When she arrives to discover that Tony is "an old man" and sent her a picture of his young foreman Joe, she marries him anyway, because she's a woman with no job, no home, and no other options. She soon learns to love this kind and good man, but their new marriage is not without obstacles due to the aforementioned Joe, and Tony's jealous sister. This only makes the ending that much sweeter, an ending of love and acceptance and opening one's heart, despite the risk that entails.
Caitlin Lowans directs just their second show since taking the lead at TTT, and their first musical, and once again displays a playfulness and and understanding of the heart of the piece. With movement by Kyle Weiler, the story flows from the big city to the country, from poignant heart-breaking scene to riotous party scene, with characters and intentions that are clear. The brilliant seven-person cast of #TCTheater favorites features many making their TTT debuts, although you wouldn't know it by their comfort and ease performing in TTT's unique in-the-round all-the-lights-on up-close-and-personal style.
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celebrating the wedding (Sasha Andreev, Phinehas Bynum,
Maje Adams, and Norah Long, photo courtesy of TTT) |
Pedro R. Bayón is so lovely as the titular happy fella, although the character is more complex than the title implies, and Pedro plays all of the layers of fear, uncertainty, longing, and love. Suzie Juul (who BTW was
"underused" in the ensemble of Second Fiddle Productions' one-night-only reading of this musical in 2015, my first experience with it) is as radiant as always as Rosabella, with a gorgeous soprano and a clear understanding of the character's complicated loves and motivations. Sasha Andreev is charming and a little dangerous as Joe, an advocate for workers' rights who delivers perhaps the most eerily relevant line of the play, about how the only freedom we have now is the freedom to choose which right to go to jail for standing up for. Norah Long makes the most of the thankless role of Tony's sister Maria, who tells him "no one will ever love you like I do;" Julia Diaz is a delight as Rosabella's waitress friend Cleo whom Tony sends for to keep her company (among other characters); Phinehas Bynam
reprises his role from Skylark Opera Theatre's 2019 production as the farm hand Herman who truly lives up to the title; and Maje Adams impresses in a number of roles.
Even though this was my third time seeing The Most Happy Fella, I was mostly unfamiliar with this beautiful and operatic score. Since many of the characters are Italian, some of the songs and dialogue are in Italian, which makes it feel more melodic and mysterious. But there are also some fun country-western style songs, as well as the by far most well-known song from the show, that has become a pop standard, "Standing on the Corner." In this version, it's sung by both the guys and the girls, watching all the girls and the guys go by, making it much more charming and less creepy. Everyone in this cast has a beautiful voice, and hearing them ring out solo and blend in perfect harmony in this intimate unamplified space is a rare treat. Isbella Dawis music directs and plays keys, the band amplified by ensemble members picking up an instrument or two, particularly Maje on sax and guitar, Phinehas on accordion and melodica, and Norah on fiddle.
Sets and costumes are typically sparse in TTT productions, to make it easier to travel to prisons, shelters, community centers, rural locations, etc., bringing theater to people who don't usually have access to it. By that standard the design feels fairly elaborate, with some large set pieces including a wagon, several crates, tall signs, and a couple sawhorses with a long board. Many of the cast members have multiple costume changes, including several pretty summer dresses in jewel tones for Rosabella and Cleo, and both working wear and suit jackets for the men. (Costume design by Sonya Berlovitz, scenic design by Eli Sherlock.)
Ten Thousand Things musicals have a special kind of magic, the stripped-down style making it feel more organic as dialogue seamlessly blends into song and back into dialogue again. And hearing these talented musicians and singers in this intimate setting is like nothing else. The Most Happy Fella is a great choice for TTT, and this production makes me appreciate this rarely done classic even more.
