Two sisters from Ohio move to New York to discover new opportunities. One, Eileen, is an aspiring actress who never has to buy anything herself: her looks and charm get her by. The other, Ruth, is a writer who doesn’t have the same fortunate ability as her sister. Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. Based on the play, “My Sister Eileen” that was made into an Oscar-winning movie, “Wonderful Town” began its initial run on Broadway in 1953 won 6 Tony awards including Best Musical. The revival began in 2003 and was nominated for 6 Tony’s, but only won for Best Choreography.
Let me start off with the obvious: “Wonderful Town” should be called “Boring Town”. There. I’ve got that out of the way. “Wonderful Town” is one of those musicals that is not as much for the audience as it is for the players involved. The highly intricate and challenging score is exhausting to listen to, but I’m sure would be freaking amazing to sing. The harmonies are great, as in “Ohio”, and the opening song “Christopher Street” has 17 key changes. 17! Something brag-worthy among vocalists. Also, the Overture had very complicated time changes. I couldn’t keep track. Perhaps if “Wonderful Town” was a snooty modern art piece, the music would be easier to bear. But it tries so hard to be whimsical and reminiscent of “happier musicals” like “Guys and Dolls”. The music just doesn’t fit.
One of the biggest contributing factors to my non-enjoyment of “Wonderful Town” was the sound. It could be the Fair Park Music Hall and a problem with the acoustics (although I’ve seen countless productions there and there hasn’t been a problem like this). It could be the fact that the entire orchestra plays on a raised platform on the stage instead of in the pit. It could be some wiring problem, or a sound technician was asleep. I couldn’t hear a damn word these people said. I had to strain to try to understand them while they were talking, and it was even worse while they were singing. The lowest point in the musical was a song sung by a former football star named Wreck called “Pass the Football”. He sounded like Special Ed from Crank Yankers. Seriously. “Duuhhh, da-dum, dee-dum dee-dum, duuuhhh Pass duh Football!!” Another bad one was “My Darling Eileen” sung by Irish policemen. If you think it’s hard to understand Special Ed as a singing football player, try understanding extremely thick and overexaggerated Irish accents. Oh, and they do some Riverdance in there too. I think it was about this point that I turned to April and whispered, “What the hell is this?”
There were a few good songs. A few. My favorite was “One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man”. Sounds stupid, right? Nah. It was great. Too bad there weren’t more moments in the show like this one. It’s Ruth’s big number in the first act. Because of this number, Ruth stole the show.
Along with not being able to understand anything that was going on, the sets don’t provide much to look at. The entire orchestra is on stage for the whole musical. That doesn’t leave much room for any sets. There are a few backdrops, and there is some furniture that comes in for scenes in Ruth and Eileen’s apartment, but that’s about it. So if you’re keeping track, that’s 1) Nothing to listen to and 2) Nothing to look at.
“Wonderful Town” is currently on tour. You can find out if it’s coming to your town by clicking here.
Jenny Rushing
beccajane67@yahoo.com
1 comment:
You write very well.
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