| re: The Lonely Few | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 04:03 pm EDT 05/11/24 | |
| In reply to: The Lonely Few - LFeat 01:15 pm EDT 05/11/24 | |
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| It has no reason to be undercooked though, it's been developed for several years and had a full production at Geffen playhouse (one of the top regionals in the country), well over a year ago, with the same major director (though not one known for musicals, let alone new ones) and a top tier cast, most (or all?) of whom are still with the show. I heard it was undercooked in LA and didn't end up seeing it. I think if they can't cook it fully by now, this is just the show they wanted it to be. Charles McNulty of the LA Times raved about a lot in the show, especially the cast and physical production, but finished the review with this: "The galvanizing singing, inventive staging and charming acting can’t entirely cover up the musical’s chief problem — choppy storytelling. It might be tempting to place the blame on Bonds’ book, which has some cliched dialogue, predictable plot points and familiar confrontation scenes. Weirdly, for a modern musical about a lesbian couple, the writing harks back to the sentimental tactics of an earlier, more conventional era. (Playwright William Inge’s characters, desperate to find connection in unfavorable provincial circumstances, have a surprising amount in common with “The Lonely Few” gang.) But the fault doesn’t lie solely with the book. It’s the relationship between the drama and the music that’s off-kilter. Sarnak’s lyrics are often drowned out in the production’s sound volume, frustrating those who expect the songs of a musical to advance the story. But not all of the audible lyrics shed meaningful light on the characters, and a few create leaps in the action that don’t seem fully earned. The show’s rhythm, as a result, is derailed. The songs grow in lyrical interest in the second act, but the storytelling drags, especially in the prolonged final stretch. “Wondering” beautifully exposes Amy’s vulnerability and “Always Wait for You” movingly expresses Lila’s romantic realization, but the psychological context and theatrical deployment of these numbers could use some tinkering. “The Lonely Few” cries out for clarity and compression. But it’s an endearing new musical with some untapped potential. Love stories, even queer ones, can’t help being a little old-fashioned at their core. But this one still has more originality to discover." --- It's very possible the creative team did not agree with McNulty's issues with the writing, but if they did see any value in his notes... the 12 months they had before going into rehearsal for the off-broadway MCC production should have been enough time to do that work. I know Sarnak has also been very busy with her new rock musical Galileo, a much bigger prospect, trying out now at Berkley Rep in SF, directed by Michael Mayer and starring Raul Esparza, and Rachel Bonds (bookwriter) had a new playing going into Roundabout off-bway this past Jan-March, as well as 2 scripted series for Audible, among other things I'm sure. I'm sure both writers and both directors had other projects I don't know about too... but my question is did they do much work on The Lonely Few between LA and NYC, or were they set and happy with the show as written a year ago? I know, for example, the Lempicka creative team did a substantial amount of work between La Jolla and Broadway, for better or worse I'm not sure. So it's not as if we can say the new musical got mixed response in CA and just left it as is and shouldn't be surprised by a mixed response in NYC. I wonder... did anyone see Lonely Few in LA and NYC yet? |
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