Thursday, July 01, 2004
Last week I saw a local production of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle. It was strange, very strange. The first third just seemed...bad, like an unsuccessul mix of Urinetown (subversive musical set in a metaphorical dystopia) and Hairspray (big, brassy woman character; gay camp elements). Of course, Anyone Can Whistle was written in the 60s. It was also a flop.
However, once you adjust to the musical's inner logic, its broad non-conformity themes expressed with asylum patients let loose amongst the larger population of a run-down town run by comically archetypal politicians, it begins to work a little bit. Actually, what happens is that the large cast is pushed off stage and you get some intimate time between
two likable characters (a heroic nurse and a heroic doctor), and the songs start to improve.
I like the themes, and I like the fact that the piece showcases two fun, flashy women (the hero and villain). The heroine, a nurse at a mental institution, can only lose her inhibitions when she dons a crazy red wig and takes on a racy French persona--an interesting drag theme. Was someone inspired by a friend who did drag? In the end, though, as unfair as it is to say regarding a show about nonconformity, the musical suffers for being just a little too weird. And though tuneful and interesting, these are not Sondheim's best numbers, not by a long shot.
*
Relatedly, today I read that Nathan Lane is writing for and starring in a production of The Frogs, a Sondheim effort that is based on a comedy by Aristophanes. The NYTimes article says, "He was already a Sondheim fan: 'Are you kidding?' he said. 'I'm a homosexual — it comes with the starter kit.'" Wow. I wish I'd gotten that kit when I came out. Must have gotten lost in the mail. It took me too many years to discover this great talent (unless you count West Side Story, which I don't, because that's Bernstein's music, even if the lyrics are amazing). Oh, and all kidding aside, you don't need to be gay to love Sondheim. Yes, he's that good.
I still haven't seen Passion, Assassins, Into the Woods, Follies, or Sweeney Todd, among others. The shows I have seen so far have been small productions--what I think of as true Chicago style, where, at their best, budget limitations elicit ingenuity, intimacy and purity of vision. Hey, an excuse for a list! I love lists. And I'll toss in ratings of the shows on a scale of 0 to 5 stars:
- Merrily We Roll Along @ Porchlight Music Theatre Co. (early 2000) - ****
A great story, er, great book as the theater people say. Great characters, great songs, so touching it makes you want to cry. - Pacific Overtures @ Chicago Shakespeare (Dec. 2001) - *****
Incredibly unique piece, breaks the mould of musical theater. It's history. Great songs. This was a killer production. - Sunday in the Park with George (June 2002) - *****
I'd remembered hating the Broadway version with Bernadette Peters that they showed constantly on PBS once upon a time. But I'd never seen all of it before. Wow, was this amazing. Again, unbelievable creativity--the second act introduces a whole new set of characters. Genius songs--it's art. - Company @ Porchlight Music Theatre Co. (March 2003) - ****
Very strong show, with at least one classic, killer song, "Ladies who lunch." A bit sappy, and more disguising of the gay character. The production I saw was in a space that was lousy acoustically--a crime! But I don't hold that against the show. - Bounce @ Goodman (July 2003) - Zip
Don't ask. Dull story, but the songs fail. Of course every weisenheimer critic couldn't resist the headline "Bounce Doesn't," but, really, it should be entitled "Plod." B and I still torture each other with the title song. ANd The Goodman, the big shit in town, always sucks. - A Little Night Music (February 2004) - *****
Just brilliant. A friend didn't love this production as much as others he'd seen, but it was my first time, and I really loved it. What a lovely, lovely show, and "Send in the Clowns" ended up being icing on the cake, not the sappy punishment I feared. - Anyone Can Whistle - **
