Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Three flawed but fascinating Off-Broadway musicals this fall and early winter: CYRANO, EINSTEIN’S DREAMS, and BROADBEND, ARKANSAS

• By drediman
• December 2, 2019
• No Comments

This fall and early winter, I encountered a trio of fascinating if flawed Off-Broadway musicals, the product of three consistently intriguing theater companies – The New Group, Prospect Theater Company, and Transport Group. Here are my impressions of their latest productions.

Peter Dinklage, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Blake Jenner in the New Group’s production of “Cyrano” at the Daryl Roth Theatre. Photo by Monique Carboni.

First up is the New Group’s much-anticipated Cyrano (RECOMMENDED) at the Daryl Roth Theatre. The main reason you may have heard of this new musical adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s classic 1897 play is because it stars Emmy-winning Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage in the title role (the New Group has been on a roll when it comes to getting A-listers to appear in its productions). Despite his diminutive physical stature and unvarnished voice, Mr. Dinklage brings a soulful gravitas and heartfelt conviction to his performance that befits the storied role (the plush-voiced Jasmine Cephas Jones, of Hamilton fame, plays the production’s strong-willed Roxanne). The attractive, emotive score by Aaron and Bryce Dessner – of The Nationals – calls to mind Duncan Sheik’s work for Spring Awakening, and it’s often ravishing, although it ultimately lacks that Tony-winning score’s variety and depth. The book by Erica Schmidt (who also directs) has smartly abbreviated the underlying play, resulting in an experience that’s at once contemporary, easy to digest, yet somehow just on the wrong side of being unmemorable. Nonetheless, in the moment, I found myself moved by Ms. Schmidt’s subdued but stylish staging.

Zal Owen, Vishal Vaidya, and Michael McCoy in Prospect Theater Company’s production of “Einstein’s Dreams” at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Richard Termine.

Over at 59E59 Theaters – courtesy of the new musical factory that is Prospect Theater Company – I found Joanne Sydney Lessner and Joshua Rosenblum’s Einstein’s Dreams (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED) to be a bizarre concoction. Based on Alan Lightman’s novel of the same name, the musical is a contradictory affair which uses a pastiche of traditional Broadway musical numbers to convey inherently radical concepts – that is, Einstein’s visionary musings on time, space, and relativity. Nevertheless, the musical is appealingly performed by a young, eager company, which notably includes an aloof yet accessible Zal Owen (who was so endearing in the Tony-winning The Band’s Visit) as a young Albert Einstein and a seductive Alexandra Silber (who played Hodel in the last revival of Fiddler on the Roof) as the muse who haunts his dreams and inspires his revolutionary theories. Overall, I found the active staging (directed by Cara Reichel) a tad misjudged if at least visually striking. However at odds with the plot, I did find Ms. Lessner and Mr. Rosenblum’s score to be a skillful string of musical theater songs, exuding a confident sound in the good old Broadway tradition.

Justin Cunningham in Transport Group’s production of “Broadbend, Arkansas” at the Duke on 42nd Street. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Then we have Transport Group’s Broadbend, Arkansas (RECOMMENDED) at the Duke on 42^nd Street. Transport Group has a history of mounting adventurous – often times audacious – productions. In comparison, I found the stark, barebones staging of the two generations spanning, race-minded Broadbend, Arkansas to be oddly tame. Nevertheless, of the three scores, Ted Shen’s work here is the most compelling and successfully integrated with the story the piece was trying to tell. Because the musical is essentially sung-through, the score needs to be able to accommodate both mundane, conversational stretches but also allow its characters’ emotions to soar at key points. Mr. Shen’s music – essentially a chamber opera – beautifully accomplishes this through a flowing musical fabric of pattering recitative and bursts of lush melody. In the end, Broadbend, Arkansas is a beguiling, mostly successful endeavor, although its first half is admittedly more successful than the second (which struck me as a bit heavy-handed). At the show’s heart are a pair of touching, vocally accomplished performances by Justin Cunningham and Danyel Fulton.

CYRANO
Off-Broadway, Musical
The New Group / Daryl Roth Theatre
2 hours, 10 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 22

EINSTEIN’S DREAMS
Off-Broadway, Musical
Prospect Theater Company / 59E59 Theaters
1 hours, 35 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 14

BROADBEND, ARKANSAS
Off-Broadway, Musical
Transport Group / The Duke on 42^ndStreet
1 hours, 40 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed