Written By: Adam Rapp and Justin Levine (book), Jamestown Revival and Justine Levine (music and lyrics)
Summary: An adaptation of the 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton and the 1983 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, about three orphaned brothers and their "greaser" friends and rival gang of "socs" (the rich kids).
Written By: book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Summary: A revival of the winner of the 1999 best book and score Tonys, based on the true story of a Jewish man in Atlanta wrongly accused of murder and lynched by a mob.
Highlights: Jason Robert Brown's score is gorgeous, haunting, and unsettling. As always he perfectly captures the emotions of the story in music. And the story of Leo Frank is a dark one. A Jewish man from Brooklyn who married a local woman and ran a pencil factory in Atlanta, he was an easy scapegoat when a 14-year old girl who worked at the factory was found dead in the basement. Politicians used the case to further their career, using the anti-semitism of the community and promising to "clean up" the South, and witnesses were bribed to falsify testimony. Leo was convicted by "a jury of his peers," and when the governor eventually commuted his death sentence to a life sentence after re-examining evidence, an angry but well organized mob kidnapped him from prison, transported him to the girl's hometown, and hung him from a tree. A brutal subject for a musical, but a timely and important one with the recent rise of anti-semitism. Ben Platt (Evan Hansen all grown up) is as good as expected, a beautiful and sober performance both vocally and emotionally. As Leo's wife Lucille, his staunch defender, Micaela Diamond is a great match, with a gorgeously strong voice full of emotion. The whole cast is fantastic, many of them playing unlikable characters. The raised platform on the stage puts the main action on display, with the cast often sitting in chairs around it. The stage is decorated with early 20th Century Americana, and also a few Confederate flags - disturbing to see (the show opens during the Civil War, showing the history of bigotry in the South). As each character is introduced, the historical figure's name and photo is displayed on the back wall of the theater, reminding us that this is a true story.
Seeing Parade is a beautiful and highly emotional experience. This is not a show to see to forget the problems of the day, but rather to take a square look at the often disturbing history of this country, and how that history is reflected in the present. e.g., a Neo Nazi group protested the first preview of this show - 110 years later and this ugliness still exists in our country. The power of this show is that it gives emotion and humanity to this story that Jason Robert Brown calls "a signal event in the history of antisemitism and white supremacist terrorism in this country, and the case was behind both the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan." What better subject for music-theater to shine a light on?
*Once again, I'm using an abbreviated Fringe-style summary for my NYC 2023 trip, since I am in the greatest city in the world with much more exciting things to do than write! Click here to see all of my Broadway-related blog posts.
The soundtrack to the 2006 Irish movie Once, featuring music by Irish musician Glen Hansard of the band The Frames and Czech musician Marketa Irglova, is my favorite movie soundtrack. It literally has not left my car CD player in the last five or so years. I also love their CD Strict Joy, released under the name Swell Season, and am eagerly awaiting the June release of Glen's first solo CD, Rhythm and Repose. I've seen them perform live several times and they're amazing musicians. Glen in particular is one of the most passionate musicians I've ever seen live, and I'll continue to go see him whenever he's in town. So it was with much excitement and trepidation when I heard that there was going to be a stage musical version of the film. I love the story and the music, but would they be able to translate the magic of the film to the stage without ruining a good thing? The reviews were pretty good, but I had to see it for myself (hence this trip to NYC). Good news: I loved it almost as much as the original. The musical is different from the film; where the film is subtle and internal with much left unspoken, the music is more cutesy and external with things more obviously spelled out (sometimes literally). But the film is so sparse that I suppose they have to fill it out for a live audience. I think it's quite successful and well done; the magic of Once is retained on stage, if in a slightly different form.
The general plot of Once, both film and musical, is this: a street musician who works at his dad's vacuum repair shop has recently gone through a bad breakup and is disenchanted with life. He meets a young Czech immigrant woman who's full of life and encourages him to make music and get his girl back. In the movie, this encouragement is more subtle, but in the stage musical the girl is relentless in convincing the guy to move on (the characters have no names). This sort of perkiness could be annoying, but in the hands of Cristin Milioti it's quite charming and irresistible. She walks the fine line of being sweet and quirky without being cloying. Steve Kazee as the guy is no Glen Hansard, but he may be the next best thing. His voice is smoother than Glen's, more musical theater than folk-rock, but by the time he finished the first song, the raw and heart-wrenching "Leave," he had won me over. He effectively played the heartache of the character and his slow coming back to life through the interaction with this girl and the music they make together. What I love about the movie, that thankfully they've kept in the musical, is that these are two people who meet and have an intense connection that profoundly changes the direction of each of their lives, and then they continue on different paths. In a Hollywood movie, they would end up together, but this seems much more real and poignant somehow. It's a true love story, but one that you don't often see on screen or stage. I ran across a quote by Albert Schweitzer that reminds me of this show: "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." That's what these two people did - rekindle each other's inner spirit.
The two strong leads are surrounded by 11 talented musician/actors (one of whom is an adorable little girl) who play instruments (fiddle, guitar, drums, etc.), sing, act out several roles, and generally contribute to the atmosphere of Irishness. Standouts in the cast include the impressively bearded Paul Whitty as the owner of the music store who's smitten with and protective of the girl, and David Patrick Kelly (of Twin Peaks fame) as the guy's stoic but supportive father. But really they're all wonderful musicians and actors. When not involved in the action, they sit around the edge of the stage, which is made up to look like an Irish pub (from which you can buy overpriced drinks before the show, although sadly they do not have Guinness, which is how you know it's not a real Irish pub). The scene transitions are interesting and graceful, with the pub serving as a bank office, the girl's apartment, and the guy's bedroom. The choreography is sparse and lovely, very organic to the story and characters. One effect I think they could do without is the surtitles. At times they display the dialogue in Czech as it supposedly is being spoken by the Czech characters, while we hear them speak English. Later they display the English translation when the girl is speaking Czech. It's a little confusing and inconsistant.
the ensemble, Cristin Milioti, and Steve Kazee
This seems an unlikely Broadway musical. Based on a small indie movie, with obscure Irish references, featuring acoustic folk music (my favorite genre), and no "riding off into the sunset" type of ending, it's not your typical musical. The songs are incorporated organically; instead of characters breaking out into song as dialogue, they sing in the context of a recording session or at a pub. It's pushing the boundaries of what music-theater can be, and I love that. We met most of the cast at the stage door, and they were all very kind and generous with their time (which is usually the case). They all seem to be aware and grateful that they are involved in something special. Here's wishing them a long run on Broadway (and maybe they can get some Guinness for the pub ;). If you're in NYC, it's definitely worth checking out. And make sure to get there early to enjoy the pre-show entertainment - an authentic Irish pub session featuring the talented musicians in the cast singing traditional songs.
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a bloody brilliant musical! It’s everything I want musical theater to be: original, challenging, engaging, thrilling, thought-provoking, hilarious, and with a rocking score. This is not your grandmother’s musical, nor is it for kids. But if, like me, you love the art form that is musical theater and believe it can and should make a strong statement about the world we live in, it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Walking into the Jacobs Theater, we knew we were in for an awesome experience. I’ve never seen a theater decked out like this. It was red. Everywhere, everything, red. There were strings of red lights covering the ceiling and walls, which made everything a bloody glow. Portraits of President Andrew Jackson adorned the walls, as did (hopefully faux) animal heads. And in the middle of the theater, hanging upside down, was a dead horse! (I’m glad I didn’t have a seat directly below that.) It set the tone for the evening, and when the actors walked on stage, the lights went down and the show began.
the bloody red Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
the dead horse hanging in the middle of the theater
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson tells the story of the seventh president of the United States of America, from his humble beginnings on the frontier of Tennessee, to “hero” of wars against the Spanish, English, and Indians, to the White House. It’s a “period piece,” but with many modern conventions, language, and anachronisms, including microphones, phones, video games, and even a Cosmo magazine. It’s a wonderful mishmash of current popular culture and history, which makes it easy to draw parallels between the story that’s being told about the early 19th century, and our own time. The show is a political satire that illustrates just how much things haven't changed. Even though the musical has gone through several years of development, the subject is very timely and some of the jokes refer to events in recent weeks. I have a feeling they'll continue to add and tweak jokes to reflect the political scandal du jour.
Andrew Jackson has dreams of overthrowing the Washington “elite” and becoming “the people’s president,” but he soon discovers that a president has to make the hard decisions, and is never going to please everyone. “The president doesn’t have the luxury of having friends.” One of the things Jackson is most known for is “Indian removal,” having convinced many Native American tribes to sign treaties and move west, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears. As the narrator (a hilarious woman in an ugly sweater and glasses, riding a scooter) said, historians are still debating whether Jackson was a hero or a genocidal murderer.
The cast is gorgeous and talented, dressed in a sort of pioneer/modern/hip wardrobe. The action is largely over the top and campy, and a heck of a lot of fun. The score is what they call “emo-rock” and is great to listen to; I’ve been singing “Populism, Yea, Yea,” and “Life sucks, and my life sucks in particular” all day! The band consists of a drummer and two guitar/keyboard players, who also at times function as characters in the action. The choreography was cool and edgy. The show reminded me a little of the equally brilliant Spring Awakening (which I’m going to see in November at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, go see it if you’re interested in a great modern rock musical). Both are set in a specific time in the past, but the themes easily translate to today. The rock score and use of hand held mics is also similar, but Spring Awakening has a more somber tone, where BBAJ is pure campy fun and dark humor. I hope this show receives the acclaim and success that Spring Awakening did.
After the show we waited at the stage door to talk to the actors. You can tell it’s a new show (it officially opens on October 13 after a few weeks in previews and a successful run at the Public Theater downtown earlier this year). There wasn’t any organization to the stage door and the actors seemed quite pleased to sign our playbills and chat with us. For many of them, this is their Broadway debut. The entire cast is marvelous; it really is an ensemble piece with everyone playing several parts. I especially enjoyed Bryce Pinkham (who appeared recently at the Guthrie in A View from the Bridge) who plays both Indian chief Black Fox and Henry Clay, a creepy ferret-holding politician. Jeff Hiller (who's appeared on such NY based TV shows as 30 Rock, Guiding Light, and Ugly Betty) is a scene stealer in all of his many roles, including the mentally challenged John Quincy Adams and the White House tour guide. The title role is played by Benjamin Walker with strength, vulnerability, humor, a little wackiness, and a whole lot of charisma. He truly is a rock star president in tight jeans! He was very pleasant and friendly at the stage door and happily posed for a picture with us. Unfortunately he’s engaged – to Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer!
me and Kendra with Ben Walker who plays Andrew Jackson
with members of the cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
If you’re in NYC or planning to be there anytime soon, go see this show. It’ll blow you away, make you laugh, and make you want to cry at the messed up state of politics 200 years ago and today. And maybe it’ll even get us thinking about a better way to do things. It’s encouraging to me that this show is on Broadway at the same time as Scottsboro Boys. Both shows deal with unpleasant periods in the history of our country and the horrible way we’ve treated people, and still are. Original musical theater as social commentary? I’ll take that over Spiderman the Musical any day!
