The Art of Storytelling Part II

The nature of love and the meaning of life are two abstract concepts which Broadway shows seem to be in a constant struggle to forever define.  Fortunately, I saw two shows on my recent trip to Broadway which employed unconventional methods to answer these unconventional questions.

Pippin – The Music Box Theatre

The theatre was pitch black, the curtain a dingy tent flap and from the orchestra a faint piano could be heard as a slinky black shadow slithered toward the audience beckoning, “Join us…”

It’s easy to hook an audience with a great opening number, and Pippin has one of the best in “Magic to Do.”  But it’s also easy to lose an audience when trying to define an abstract question, which is what Pippin is all about.

The musical follows the story of a boy named Pippin as he searches for the meaning of life.  It’s a quest everyone in the audience is familiar with, both personally and on-stage, for Pippin’s journey is not unlike Princeton in Avenue Q or Candide in Candide.

What makes Pippin’s journey different from those before (and after) him is the honesty with which life’s choices are laid out.  Pippin, like many of us, searches through life’s all too familiar phases including: military glory, sex, politics, family and even ordinary life before finally arriving at what he views as the best way to make his life extraordinary.

The emotional and physical choices Pippin must address are conveyed by the fact that the show is performed by a troupe in a circus like atmosphere.  This troupe not only breaks the fourth wall in addressing the audience, but uses the circus setting to symbolize the hoops one must jump through and the beams one must walk across to find the answers to life’s most complex questions.

Life as circus is not an original metaphor, but it is an honest one.  And Pippin’s quest to find life’s meaning is an innocent and honest enigma we all try to solve.  Pippin’s greatest attribute as a musical is the clarity in the portrayal of life’s choices through its spectacles.

The Last 5 Years – Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)

Countless musicals have told love stories on linear paths regardless of their ending.  But what about telling the story from two different angles and time perspectives?  That’s what makes The Last 5 Years a modern classic.

The Last 5 Years is a one act, two character, 90 minute show.  It tells the story of Jamie and Cathy over their five-year relationship, from the first date to their divorce.  Now, I’m not spoiling the ending, because the audience learns of the couple’s demise within the first song.  But the real question is how did they get there?

To answer that question composer Jason Robert Brown, who also directed this magnificent production, told their story in two distinct directions.  The songs alternate between Cathy and Jamie, with Cathy starting the show at the end of the marriage, and Jamie starting at the beginning of the relationship.  When the show concludes, it is Jamie who laments the marriage’s demise while Cathy is celebrating their meeting.

The real joy in watching The Last 5 Years is seeing this one-story told in two different and opposing emotional directions.  Even more fascinating is that both characters only meet and appear onstage together one-time throughout the show.  That happens mid-way thru when both stories intersect, at their wedding.  The scene is both heartbreaking because you know what’s coming, but also thrilling because you see the joy in their eyes.  Now, that’s great storytelling!

Finale

I saw The Last 5 Years and Pippin on the same day, one at the matinee and the other in the evening.  It was perhaps one of the greatest days in my theater-going journey, and reinforced what I love so much about the American theater: its ability to tell a story and the creativity involved.

The Last 5 Years will conclude its limited run on May 18, tickets are available by clicking here.

Pippin currently has an open-ended run, tickets are available by clicking here.

The Art of Storytelling: 2013 NYC Broadway Recap

Warning: This post will contain plot spoilers for the show’s mentioned.  Proceed at your own risk!

MarqueePolitics has been busy traveling and just returned from a whirlwind weekend in New York City seeing four shows: Matilda, The Last 5 Years, Pippin and Cinderella.  And while each musical was different in its style and staging, one thought kept popping into my head.  Sometimes it’s not the story that counts, but how you tell it!

Matilda – Shubert Theatre 

Matilda sailed into Broadway from London last month with a lot of hype and dazzling reviews.  Yet, it was the most anticlimactic-boring musical I have sat thru in a long, long time.  I arrived at this summation when heading to the men’s room at intermission, thinking about the Act I Finale and simply saying, “That’s it?”

Based on the Roald Dahl book, Matilda centers on an extremely intelligent five-year old girl. Despite having parents who hate her, and a nasty headmistress, she’s able to conquer life’s problems using her intelligence and, later on, telekinetic powers.

The problem with the telekinetic plot twist is that for a good 70% of the show, Matilda uses her intelligence to outwit those who wish her ill-will.  This shtick maybe cute, but by Act II it becomes quite predictable.  When Matilda’s telekinetic discovery finally is made,  it arrives in the form of Matilda knocking over a glass of water.  This discovery had a feeling of suspense comparable to hanging wallpaper.

I know the British are stereotyped as being rather dull, bloated and uptight, but that’s exactly how Matilda came off.  It was charming, yet dreadfully dull.  Good stories hold your attention, Matilda forced my attention to think about which bar I would frequent after the show.

Cinderella – Broadway Theatre

If Matilda was prim and proper, than Cinderella was its musical sibling of an adverse nature.  Originally a 90-minute Rodgers & Hammerstein (R&H) television musical, the show was elongated by one hour for its Broadway debut this spring.  To fill the gap, the producers imported music from other R&H shows and commissioned a new book (the spoken text of a musical) to be written.

The result was a mismatched narrative of a show, akin to wearing a tuxedo shirt and jacket with gym shorts and flip flops.   Cinderella is a classic fairy-tale where formality, elegance, manners and grace are as essential as the white ball gown and glass slippers.  Yet the words being spoken out of the characters mouth placed them in a B-movie comedy circa 2002.

While the new book attempted to freshen-up the show’s well-worn plot, the use of modern slang and colloquialisms not only cheapened the characters, but a lovely musical.  Cinderella is a reminder that in musical theater, music and lyrics simply don’t tell the story.  They ONLY work when combined with a well written book.

Storytelling maters….

Despite technological advances in stagecraft, Matilda and Cinderella confirmed that nothing can overrule a well told story.  Matilda and Cinderella were nice productions, but lacked the essential tools of drama (Matilda) and eloquence (Cinderella).

In Part II of this post, I’ll explore two shows which redefined the art of story-telling in vastly different ways including: forwards, backwards and with a little bit of magic to do!

Springtime for….

Peter Pan used to tell children that if they wanted to fly, they must think “Happy” thoughts.  Well I’m applying the same logic to staying warm this winter, and so my thoughts are turning to the new crop of Broadway shows opening in March and April.  Below are the productions I’m most excited to see on Broadway this spring!

Pippin – We’ve Got Magic To Do!

Music  Box Theater – Opening Night April 25^th

The revival of this 1972 musical is about a boy prince hoping to find his way in the world.  Throughout his travels, he goes on to basically do ‘sex, drugs and rock n’roll’ all in the hope of discovering fulfillment in life.  With a score by Stephen Schwartz (better known to millenials as the composer of Wicked) this production couldn’t better timed.  With too many millenials still questioning traditional social values after the 2008 financial collapse, hopefully they’ll learn from Pippin’s example about how to make life extraordinary.

Cinderella – A New Rodgers & Hammerstein Musical?

Broadway Theatre – Opening Night March 3^rd

“How can this be,” you’re asking yourself!  “I saw this same musical on television with Julie Andrews?”  True, Cinderella was originally a television musical with Julie Andrews.  In fact R&H wanted to work with Andrews so badly they wrote Cinderella just for her.  The music however has never been heard on the Broadway stage, till now.  Featuring an updated and elongated book, this production of Cinderella will be the first time these R&H songs have been heard on the Broadway stage in a legitimate production.

Matilda – A Non-Spectacle British Musical?

Shubert Theatre – Opening Night April 11^th

It’s fascinating to me watching the transformation of the British musical.  In the eighties it was all spectacle with shows like Starlight Express and Miss Saigon.  Now, with shows like Billy Elliot and Matilda, the musicals are becoming more character driven.  That being said Matilda, a musical based on the beloved Roald Dahl novel, is coming to American via the Royal Shakespeare Company and a lot of theater buzz.  It will be exciting to see whether this shows turns out to be like London productions that had a lot of buzz and flopped (Chess) or still have their marquee burning bright (Phantom).

The Last 5 Years – My First Time…

2^nd Stage Theatre – Opening Night March 7^th

I’ve never been off-Broadway, but if there was ever a reason to go, it would be to see a production of the heart-breakingly beautiful musical The Last 5 Years.  This two-person show is about a couple and the story of their marriage.  The husband and wife alternate singing every-other-song, with the wife starting at the end of the marriage and the husband starting after their first date.  They respectively go forward and backwards, only meeting once and that’s in the middle of the show at their wedding.  This show had a brief off-Broadway run a decade ago, but has since become a modern classic.

As for what makes a show an off-Broadway show?  Off-Broadway are theaters that can house 100-499 seats, thus making them smaller then Broadway theaters.  Many off-Broadway also tend to be out of the realm of the theater district in mid-town Manhattan.