I can see how Daddy Long Legs was a seductive idea. An adaptation of Jean Webster's novel, previously staged both under its own name and as the 1952 musical Love From Judy, and filmed in 1919 starring Mary Pickford, 1935 with Shirley Temple, and 1955 with Fred Astaire. (Fun fact: It even was the basis for two animes.) I'm sure I'm still leaving something out. But anyway.
A two-person cast. An inoffensive score. An eye-filling production. Personal bias? I can get behind the idea of an epistolary musical (next, please: Freedom and Necessity). These elements seem to align well. Now, if I thought the script and music were worthy of the treatment they receive here, the show would have immediately been nailed to my long-term list of Penny Seats selections.
Christy Altomare and Kevin Earley, as lovable orphan Jerusha Abbott and her befuddled benefactor Jervis Pendleton (who sort of has a Colin Firth thing going on) bring their A-game at the Gem Theatre, assisted by a sharp pit orchestra and a clean, even opulent production. However, everyone involved is working to overcome an insubstantial, flawed script and forgettable music. In attempting to brand a new classic, John Caird and Paul Gordon have managed to achieve a number of negative stereotypes about Broadway (and Broadway-minded) musicals, best exemplified by the unfortunate "Graduation Day" sequence.
Let me pause for a moment and add the following disclaimers.
1) I don't review plays often. I actually hadn't meant this to be a review, but a discussion of where a great idea went wrong. Which, in other words, kind of means a review.
2) I have only in the last few years embraced musicals, after shunning them for quite some time due to, well, all the criticisms I'm leveling at this one. In other words, while I may not be the target audience, I do know what it's like to leave humming a great song. Disclosure ended.
Anyway. I find the show's missed opportunities somewhat intriguing. Altomare gamely takes on the task of bringing Jerusha's world to life around her, as she narrates letter after letter (with Earley's dyspeptic reactions providing a few laughs); however, when it comes time for the two to meet - which they do at several points - Jerusha blithely skips ahead and tells us what happened. This is a splendid device to ensure that we are not shocked and/or disgusted when Jerusha decides she loves ol' Daddy Long Legs, deception and all; it's also a splendid way to make sure the characters never actually have to, y'know, interact, or talk, or build much of a relationship. Essentially, at the end, I felt like Jervis had fallen in love with Jerusha from
This could be an example of a concept - conceit? - outstripping sense, the creators hewing so close to the agreed-upon
As I write this, I realize that I could look beyond that. For all my blathering, I might actually still dig the script, as it has the potential to be a cute showcase for two outstanding actors. I might, if I liked the music at all. From beginning to end, the score is Disney-polished, rambling but clean, comfortably pandering. I certainly applaud new musicals, but when was the last time you realized that you were dreading a reprise (again, "Graduation Day")? (Reading that last part again, it occurs to me that it's probably a fairly regular event for frequent musical-goers.)
Well, that's all for this entry, except: I did a bit more research before posting, and found that Daddy Long Legs won the 2010 LA Ovation Award for Best Book of a Musical. Make of that what you will.
I keep thinking about this musical--although the entire story existed only in *reference* through the letters (as opposed to action or dialogue between characters), I can still see potential in structuring a story in this way. The biggest problem for me was simply that the lyrics of the songs (which formed almost the entirety of the musical...I would be surprised if there were more than ten lines of dialogue outside of song) were absolutely boring and generic. If I had any sympathy at all for the characters, it was because the actors did an amazing job. I felt like the writers weren't willing to embrace the opportunities offered by an epistolary story. Because we were unable to see any actual action, the story relies entirely on the strength of the lyrics--which could have experimented with language, expression, the nature of allusion, beautiful descriptions, and poetry. Instead, the lyrics offered uninspired summaries of the unseen plot.
ReplyDeleteI was also very disappointed at the last scene in which they finally meet. Structurally, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to experiment with time, as though the story were finally entering into the present moment wherein the characters no longer had to merely *describe* past events, but could inhabit them entirely without meditation or song.