Swiftynifty, I'm 100% with you. I loved this show with all my heart and still do. I miss it terribly. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and each opinion on its own is certainly valid, but the collective hatred (not dislike, hatred) this show has received not only confounds me, it disgusts me. In a small way, it also wounds me. Lower-case 'w'.
If I may borrow from a very recent PM I wrote:
It was highly unusual, and it was not high theater, but I will always love Brooklyn the Musical. I can see why others did not, however. What I can't understand is why people didn't at least cite that Ramona Keller was outstanding.
A portion of the singing had the voice but lacked the soul (mostly Eden Espinosa, but even she impressed because the actor/role dynamic happened to work - she was playing a very young woman who was rather naive), but the story was allegorical and spoke to something larger than simply its characters. It was about idealism clashing with the real world, and the multifacted portrayal of the antagonist (Paradice) was so wonderfully handled by Keller. Paradice's actions were downright evil, but she was thoroughly humanized ("Raven") to the point that one could not wish for her downfall and had to concede she had overcome a great deal to make it to the top. That's more emotionally complex than it sounds, but either people were not prepared to dig that deeply or, more likely, came in with set expectations/decided 15 minutes into the show that it was too offbeat or lowbrow.
Many of the songs had bite, spark and verve, and in the end, while the protagonist did end up reunited with her father, her idealism did not win out. That is how life usually is, even though we would love for that not to be so.
I'll never understand why people did not rave about the opening number, "Heart Behind These Hands." What a melding together of terrific signing over a rapturous, tremendous melody with soul-searching lyrics. Ka-boom!
The show may not have told us anything we did not already know, but it expressed its ideas in a profoundly beautiful way. Cleavant Derricks - what a singer. If I stay away from the cast recording for a while and let it play he and Ramona Keller give me consistent chills. I must specifically cite Cleavant's voice as it rings out from backstage before "Streetsinger" - "you can change the world by changing someone/and maybe that's what we're put on earth for/I know that's what I'm on earth for..." Absolute chills. The show dug very bravely and deeply into the depths of the soul ("Sometimes," "Brooklyn In the Blood") without losing entertainment value ("Love Me Where I Live"). A sociologist could have a field day with this show.
I think perhaps many did not fancy it because it was chiefly driven by soul/R&B numbers, and this genre has always driven my senses wild when the singing is top-notch.
Yes, more than one person was profoundly touched by this show. Perhaps it wasn't groundbreaking or Earth-shattering, but it was earnest, sincere and brilliantly performed. And it was not formulaic or emotionally vacant or vapid, which a great deal of productions more lauded certainly are.
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)
Updated On: 6/14/09 at 10:41 PM
