2016-09-10



Austin Scott Lombardi in Fiorello!

Photo: Alexander Hill

Following a spring which saw Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick’s classic Fiddler on the Roof (1964) and their delectable She Loves Me (1963) both on the Broadway boards, musical comedy-goers might want to sample the 1959 musical that first put them on the map–as it were–and earned them a Pulitzer Prize as well. And here, for a limited and decidedly non-Broadway run, is Fiorello!

Fiorello! not only won the boys a Pulitzer; it won them a Tony as well, in a tie (of questionable legitimacy) with The Sound of Music. (Gypsy, which has proven to be of far more artistic value, was altogether blanked in the competition.) Their melodic score, brimming over with warm but sharp humor, retains its charm although it also clearly lags a few paces behind the aforementioned classics.

The barriers that have consigned the show to the sidelines, revival-wise, were apparent in its two major modern-day New York appearances, as the initial entry of the City Center Encores! series in 1994 and as the opener of their twentieth season in 2013. Most critical, perhaps, was the fading of the politician known as the “Little Flower.” In 1959, Fiorello H. LaGuardia was still a household name, having served as mayor of New York for twelve years (through the Depression and World War II). By the 1970s his fame had faded to the point where the name remains famous, thanks to the run-down airport on Long Island Sound, but the man is all but forgotten.

The other Fiorello! barrier, oddly enough, is that Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Jerome Weidman (father of Sondheim-collaborator John Weidman) and George Abbott. It is neither poor nor charmless; it is decidedly old-fashioned, though, and somewhat clunky by present-day standards. Or by the standards of that season’s Gypsy, for that matter.

At any rate, we can now see Fiorello! at the East 13th Street Theater, which under another name is home to the Classic Stage Company (aka CSC). The production is an import from the Berkshire Theatre Group, successor to the famed Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, MA. This has been one of the anchors of the American summer stock world since 1928.

This Fiorello!, which originated in June in Stockbridge, is decidedly “summer stock”–which has connotations both positive and not. The good part is the energetic young cast. This is not a high school show; most of the cast seem to be recent college graduates. That said, the politically-themed Fiorello! is filled with character roles, and we get the feeling that these kids are barely old enough to vote. Austin Scott Lombardi, who plays the title role, certainly doesn’t fill the shoes of F. H. LaGuardia. He was famously a short, squat man built like a fireplug. (Tom Bosley created the role.) Lombardi is more like a string bean, perhaps, but those unfamiliar with LaGuardia–or who take him for a fictional character–won’t mind. Especially since he has the energy and drive to acquit himself well in the part.


Rylan Morsbach (right) in Fiorello!

Photo: Alexander Hill

The cast includes a good number of ingratiating young actors; unfortunately, they are saddled–presumably by director Bob Moss–with an astonishing array of accents. We know that New York was and is a melting pot, but here the actors seem restrained by the stereotypes they wear like costumes. Rylan Morsbach, as the “Politics and Poker” politico, gives evidence of being an interesting young actor (reminiscent of Jason Alexander in Merrily We Roll Along, as it happens). The voice he uses might be somebody’s idea of a gruff backroom dealer, but it is not a convincing one, and things get even worse when he is asked to do choreography; the observer has to guess that he’d be far more convincing if they just let him act naturally.

An ineffective accent also undermines Rebecca Brudner, as the first wife, Thea; yes, the character is an Italian immigrant, but that doesn’t justify the burden she is given to carry. (When the director leaves her alone and lets her sing “When Did I Fall in Love,” the pretense disappears and she makes the song highly effective.) Katie Birenboim is similarly restrained as the loyal secretary Marie. When she finally gets around to “The Very Next Man,” we see that there is a likable performer there. The same applies, more or less, to the “cop”-loving Dora of Chelsea Cree Groen, who gives the evening’s most successful performance when she isn’t slipping into someone’s idea of “comic” business.

If the direction is questionable, the choreography by Michael Callahan does indeed look like something out of high school; the political hacks swing their shoulders to the beat and form themselves into a chorus line time and again. What is most surprising, dance-wise, is the breezy “I Love a Cop” dance extension. Here, Callahan gets it right; Groen and her boys are altogether delightful and charming. It’s only one number, leaving us to wonder what the choreographer might have come up with, without restraints.


Rebecca Brudner in Fiorello!

Photo: Alexander Hill

Up on the Straw Hat circuit, this Fiorello! might have seemed like a bright and endearing summer’s night diversion. Down here on 13th Street, it seems–well, a welcome way to form an acquaintance with Bock & Harnick’s Pulitzer-winner but not exactly up to professional standards. Summer stock musicals can be slight, yes; but this one is kid’s stuff compared to Barrington Stage’s full-gauge 2013 production of On the Town, which was top of the line even before it was expanded for Broadway.

We can also make excuses given that this is a low budget, little-scenery, two pianos-and-one-violin reduction in a 199-seat house. But consider what director John Doyle has done in this very same space with the CSC productions of Passion and Allegro. Compared to which, this Fiorello! really does look “summer stock.”
.
Fiorello! opened September 9, 2016 and continues through October 7 at the East 13th Street Theater

– This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

… Read more

Show more