Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James are exquisitely devastating in the Broadway transfer of DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

• By drediman
• January 29, 2024
• No Comments

Last night, the musical adaptation of Days of Wine and Roses arrived on the Great White Way at Studio 54 after having enjoyed a sold out run Off-Broadway last year courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company. Written by the team of Adam Guettel (score) and Craig Lucas (book) – the same team that brought us the gorgeous The Light in the Piazza – the new musical is based on the 1962 film of the same name starring Jack Lemon and Lee Remick about a romantic couple whose descent into alcoholism tragically defines their marriage.

The musical beautifully integrates book and score, creating a seamless tone poem that’s a refreshing departure from the predictable musical theater formula. In particular, it does an expert job of establishing setting, all the while providing nuanced character development and presenting its difficult subject matter with clarity and sensitivity (both Guettel and Lucas have been open about their past issues with substance abuse). Guettel’s articulate, jazz-tinged score especially benefits from the move uptown – the additional players in the orchestra give it a substantially richer sound that’s more appropriate for a Broadway musical.

Days of Wine and Roses has been confidently staged by Michael Greif. Working on a larger canvas, the musical is now more comfortable in its own skin and unfolds more organically. In terms of performances, Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James are exquisitely devastating in the central roles played in the film by Remick and Lemon. Both are in stupendous voice, giving career-defining performances that somehow manage to dig deeper than they did Off-Broadway. Their depiction of alcoholism is a heroic feat – humanizing the illness without sensationalizing the characters’ downward spiral.

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DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Broadway, Musical
Studio 54
Through April 28