"The Fortress of Solitude" has a welcome debut in Dallas

To be successful, theater needs engage the emotions of its viewers.  It is not easy to do, and can be especially difficult in musical theater.  Indeed, much of the musical theater canon is focused on engaging the humor or romantic emotions in viewers, as those are the emotions most naturally suited to the musical form.  A musical that engages the the mind and heart in a deeply felt way outside of a romantic context is particularly difficult to pull off.  But that is exactly what the outstanding new musical  "The Fortress of Solitude," a musical stage adaptation of Jonathan Lethmam's 2004 novel set in Brooklyn, NY is able to accomplish in its outstanding premiere now playing through April 6 at the Dallas Theater Center.

"Fortress" is a co-production between DTC and New York's Public Theater, and features a tuneful and witty score by Michael Friedman, an engaging and smart book by Itamar Moses, fluid direction by Daniel Aukin, and a terrific cast led by two outstanding young actor/singers, Adam Chanler-Berat and Kyle Beltran.  Mr. Chanler-Berat holds much of the emotional weight of the show on his shoulders, and provides the finest musical theater performance I have seen on stage this theater season.

The show primarily focuses on the unlikely friendships and family lives of the characters played by Chanler-Berat and Beltran, who grew up as neighbors in mid-1970s Gownaus, Brooklyn.  The show spans the time period from 1975-1999, and the lyrics and music evoke the musical styles  (and some near sampling that had me wondering about legal music clearances) that span that time frame.  Indeed, as in the book on which it is based, music and it's effect on the emotional lives of its characters provides a central theme of the work.

To say that I was incredibly moved by this show would be an understatement.  I am not sure if it is due to the fact that the characters grew up in times relatively contemporaneous with my own life, but I was blown away by the ability of the show to evoke the period zeitgeists in the American eras it portrays.  To me, this proved to be a unique and special musical that I highly recommend to anyone in Dallas before it closes.

As with many brand new works, I have a few quibbles.  The first act is a bit too long, and needs better focus.  I believe this could be accomplished by reducing the character arcs of a few of the minor characters. I am hopeful these issues will be resolved by the creative team before the show is mounted next year at the Public (the starting place for last year's outstanding new musical "Fun Home" whose tone and execution reminded me a great deal of "Fortress"). Indeed, I cannot wait to see this show again at the Public to see if the careful polishing of the musical gem is accomplished.  

"Bridges," "Rocky," "If/Then": Three Imperfect Musicals, With Much To Recommend

It is very difficult to create a near perfect musical, and the current theater season has failed to produce  one thus far.  But many pleasurable moments can be found in three new musicals on Broadway that get a great deal right, even though each is flawed in some significant way.

I will confess that going into "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY," I expected to find the show unduly sappy and trite.  Thus, I was quite surprised to find myself swept away by one of the finest on stage romantic pairings I have seen,  provided by this show's enormously talented leads, Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale.  The on stage chemistry between these two fine actors and singers is palpable, and aided by a lush score and the fluid directorial touches of Bartlett Sher, this show soars when its two leads command the stage.  The disappointment comes when any of the other characters are on stage, as none of them can compete with the heat generated by the two central performers.   There is a great 110 minute show trying to break out of this 2 hour, 40 minute production, and those minutes are what makes this show well worth catching, at least as long as Ms. O'Hara and Mr. Pasquale are in it.

"ROCKY," the big money spectacle musical of the season, left me with very mixed feelings.  On the plus side are two terrific lead performances (Andy Karl and Margo Seibert in another strong romantic pairing), several fine songs and one of the most amazing musical stagings I have seen.  On the minus side are a number of pointless songs, an anemic book and some miscast actors (the usually fine actor Dakin Matthews being the chief offender).  But in the last 20 minutes all misgivings are swept away by the exquisitely staged final boxing match that sends its audience out a musical theater high.  Is it enough to wipe away the flaws that came before it?  Probably.

Finally, although not without its flaws, I found "IF/ THEN" to be the best new musical I have seen thus far this season.  An interesting and thoughtful look at the various choices taken in life, and the metaphysical strings that influence those choices, "If/ Then" features a fine score, cast and staging.  The show's book is well thought out, unique and unpredictable.  I became deeply invested in the show while watching it, but I must confess that it never moved me in a deep way.  I think this is partly due to the lack of nuance provided by the show's lead actress, Idina Menzel.  Ms. Menzel is a fine singer and belts out the fine songs she is given in true show-stopper fashion.  But her acting is simply not on par with her singing, and she fails to give her character an innate sweetness that a better actress could have provided as a means to connect with the main character on a deeper level.  While watching the show, I could not help thinking that LaChanze, who plays a supporting role in the show, would have been put to better use cast in the lead role.  Nevertheless, there is much to recommend in "If/Then," and I hope it finds an audience beyond the rather noisy Idina Menzel groupies that attended the performance I saw.