A New Brain- Page 2
A New Brain
Joined: 12/31/69
re: A New Brain#25
Posted: 1/9/05 at 3:44pm
Here's a review that should explain the show:
A New Brain Review from NY Theatre on June 14, 1998
I won't beat around the bush: A New Brain is the most exciting new musical to reach New York in quite a while. At its best, it is hypnotic and soulful and transporting: the material, especially as performed by the powerhouse cast assembled by Graciela Daniele, is brilliantly creative. Much of A New Brain takes place in the mind of a man who thinks he's dying (in fact, three musical numbers happen while he's in a coma); perversely these are the moments when the show is most alive. Joyously so: these woozy sung-through sequences are like dreams set to music. There's greatness here--grandeur, even.
A New Brain marks the triumphant return to the New York stage of composer-lyricist William Finn, whose best-known work is Falsettos. The story, which is loosely autobiographical, begins with composer Gordon Schwinn working at his piano, irritable because he's up against a deadline. He's supposed to write a song about spring for his boss, a dictatorial children's TV star named Mr. Bungee (he's a frog). Gordon goes to meet his friend Rhoda for lunch, passing a tart homeless woman on the way. At the restaurant, Gordon suddenly clutches his head in pain, falls face-forward into his pasta, and then collapses.
At the hospital, Gordon learns that he has a rare condition called arteriovenous malformation, which causes fluid to build up on his brain. An operation is needed, but it's potentially dangerous; there's a significant chance that Gordon could die, or never recover his faculties. Surrounded by his tiny but supportive family--Rhoda, his mother, and his lover Roger--Gordon nonetheless must face this crisis alone. And what haunts him the most are the songs that he fears he will never write if he doesn't survive.
And so--from his hospital bed, from his wheelchair, from the depths of an MRI, and even while comatose--Gordon writes them. They flow out of his imagination and his subconscious breathlessly and uncontrollably. Little remembered snatches of reality crop up surreally in these weirdly magical musical numbers: the homeless lady, for example, keeps appearing, and when Gordon's doctor mentions just before surgery that he has tickets to see Chicago that night, the spirit of that dark, brittle show pervades a long nightmarish sequence that Gordon hallucinates (dreams?) while in a coma.
This stuff is magnificent: wise, sad, compassionate, funny. Gordon conjures up a racetrack where the horses are played by convalescing patients with walkers. He gives his mother a stunningly sharp torch song in which she wonders why, with heartbreaking directness,she has outlived both her husband and her son. And he devises a show-stopping comic song about Murphy's Law and genetics: "the bad trait will always predominate," goes the refrain ("the smart son is always gay").
A New Brain is so good that I want it to be perfect. It's not, and, Gordon Schwinn-like, I started to obsess about its flaws: the theme suggested by its title--of rebirth following such brutal trauma--isn't really dealt with here; the reality scenes don't feel real enough, as though Mr. Finn is pulling away from us; the music, especially in these reality scenes, is too reminiscent of Falsettos. But the more I think about A New Brain, the less inclined I am to quibble: I believe this show may be a masterpiece, even if flawed. I'm planning to see it again; frankly, I can't wait.
The production is superb, by the way. Malcolm Gets, who is best-known as Caroline in the City's boyfriend Richard, does a star-making turn as Gordon. He's on stage for virtually the entire length of the piece, delivering an intelligent, emotional, well-sung performance. Mary Testa, who was so good in From Above last season, almost succeeds in stealing the show away from Mr. Gets as the sassy homeless woman. Her way with a bluesy song or a piece of comic business is priceless.
Chip Zien is a hoot as the dreadful Mr. Bungee; I can't imagine anyone else doing justice to the role. Penny Fuller provides class and emotional heft as Gordon's mother. And speaking of heft, Michael Mandell, a delightful mountain of a man, scores as Gordon's nice nurse Richard, projecting a happy amalgamation of Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller. Graciela Daniele's staging of the book and the almost-continuous musical numbers is ingenious and wondrously quick-paced. Considering the potentially depressing subject matter, A New Brain never lags and never feels like a downer.
That triumph--to make such an innovative, uplifting work of art out of such awesome adversity--belongs to William Finn. I sincerely hope that A New Brain will have a life after its limited engagement at Lincoln Center. In the meantime, don't delay: I predict that tickets are going to be hard to find.
I say AMEN! I saw it at Lincoln Center and it ranks as one of my most beloved NYC Theater memories.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: A New Brain#26
Posted: 1/9/05 at 4:00pm
It is a brilliant score, but I thought the whole production was flawed.
"Cuttyhunk" was a showstopper. I loved "And They're Off" but "they are off in a herd like a four letter word"? Man, that is one clunky lyric. The show seemed like it needed some editing and maybe some rewriting. I thought a lot of the dramatic action was really unbelievable. I love Mary Testa but her role just didn't ring true.
I had hoped that they would rewrite, fine tune and then come to Broadway, but it seems like that Production was the end of the line. Sad, because despite the problems, it was a very powerful evening in the theatre.
Joined: 12/31/69
Joined: 12/31/69
re: A New Brain#28
Posted: 1/10/05 at 5:27pm
Sorry I knew I should have checked the lyric before I quoted it. Still, what the hell does that mean? It made me wish there had been a director or producer involved that could have made Finn do some clean up on the score.
I agree though that "I've got so much Spring..." is wonderful.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
Stand-by Joined: 1/8/05
re: A New Brain#30
Posted: 1/10/05 at 7:17pmI love a new brain! Exclamation points don't even describe how much. Finn's music is infectious (but in a good way, not like a fungus or something) and his lyrics easily move from witty to deeply moving. This show captures such interesting characters and emotions, it's irresistable to me. And Norm Lewis singing Anytime... could listen to it for hours and never get sick of it.
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