Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jason Robert Brown’s unlikely, thought-provoking new musical THE CONNECTOR charts the rise of fake news

• By drediman
• February 15, 2024
• No Comments

I recently had the chance to catch up with The Connector, the highly anticipated new musical by Jason Robert Brown and Jonathan Marc Sherman currently playing Off-Broadway at MCC Theater. Set during the 1990s, the musical charts the rapid rise of fresh-faced writer Ethan Dobson, whose journalistic fabrications bring down The Connector, a well-respected monthly magazine. Although fictitious, the piece — conceived and given a slick, fast-paced staging by Daisy Prince — seems to be very much inspired by real life, namely the true events concerning Stephen Glass and his role in the near collapse of The New Republic.

If I were to superficially describe the thought-provoking and unlikely musical, I’d probably put it at the nexus of such well-known works as Dear Evan Hansen, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Brown’s own The Last Five Years. But perhaps the show closest in ilk is the lesser known I Can Get It for You Wholesale, particularly with respect to Harry Bogen, the anti-hero at its core. Just like Harry, Ethan is a slick charmer who knows how to get his way — until he goes too far, that is. What’s worse is that Ethan acts less in reaction to a chip on his shoulder than out of sheer entitlement. Although The Connector never really delivers on its promise to explore the grey space between truth and fact — and its downbeat outcome is telegraphed from a mile away — it’s nevertheless a compelling portrait of unchecked egotism and ambition, as well as white male dominated office culture (and the toxicity it creates). And as a chronicle of the inception of fake news, the period piece stakes its relevance by drawing a direct connection to current times.

To be sure, a considerable amount of craft has been sunk into The Connector. Sherman’s book is intelligent and efficiently-plotted, if in need of a little more fleshing out. As for the score, it’s one of Brown’s most exciting achievements — a rollicking, surprisingly artful set of songs (thrillingly performed) that confidently find the emotional pulse of the piece. In the central role of Ethan, Ben Levi Ross — sounding like a hybrid between Tony-winners Ben Platt and Norbert Leo Butz — gives an expertly manifested performance that’s increasingly squirm-inducing. The production also features a poised turn by Hannah Cruz as Ethan’s love interest-cum-rival, as well as marks the welcome return to the stage by screen star Scott Bakula as the magazine’s misguided but good-intentioned leader. Perhaps most penetrating of all is the great Jessica Molaskey, playing a fact-checker who in just a few incisive actorly strokes turns out to be the work’s burning moral compass.

RECOMMENDED

THE CONNECTOR
Off-Broadway, Musical
MCC Theater
1 hour, 45 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 17