February House

Wow. I went in expecting nothing as I thought the premise sounded problematic, but this piece was basically brilliant. I don't know who Gabriel Kahane is or where he came from, but I pray he doesn't go away anytime soon. Beautiful, beautiful music and some of best lyrics in years; George Davis sings about being "weak for antique teak" early on and I knew I was in love. I actually wish I had a legal pad with me so I could write down all the wonderful rhymes as they came fast and furious. Please release a lyric book with the recording!

Kahane is also credited with the orchestrations, which were superb. They were of the quality of Once, Queen of the Mist and The Wild Party.

Likewise Seth Bockley has written a first-rate book. I don't know how he fashioned such a coherent story out of this premise, and more importantly he made everyone a character and not just an historical figure. Without his deft structuring this could have been a pretty-sounding mess.

And then there's the cast. Each of them seemed to be giving both a star performance and acting as an unselfish member of a well-oiled ensemble.

Stanley Bahorek and Ken Barnett as Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were delightful and often hysterical. Their act two opener about bed bugs was a riot.

Kacie Sheik kills her one big number as Gypsy Rose Lee. She doesn't entire the show until the end of act one, but when she does it's with a crack of dynamite.

Erik Lochtefeld (Auden) brings his young "husband" (AJ Shively) to February House and pulls off what is probably the most difficult role. Stephanie Hayes shows up as Erika Mann and does well with her smaller part.

The highest honors must go to Julian Fleisher as George Davis and Kristen Sieh as Carson McCullers. The latter in particular is so brilliant I couldn't stand it. She sings a song about Coney Island accompanied solely by a banjo and it's fantastic.

Ok, so I realize this is only playing the rest of this week, and I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner to have time to go back, but I urge anyone who hasn't seen it to clear your calendar and see if there are still tickets available. It's pretty damn special and I'm assuming will not transfer to a commercial run. This is the kind of night that reminds me why I keep going to theater.

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I am SO excited to finally see this on Thursday!! Every time I've tried to go it's been sold out. It sounds so interesting and I'm so curious to see it.

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After Eight,

I did search and the only thread I found was someone asking about rush.

I felt strongly enough about the piece, and it seemed to be slipping by under the radar, that I wanted to start a new thread.

I did say it was "basically brilliant," but after a good night's sleep I would also drop the "basically" and leave it at plain "brilliant."

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I was on the fence about seeing this, but Whizzer's report tipped the scales! Grabbed a TDF seat for this weekend!

I also saw this last night and I am not nearly as enthusiastic as you. I thought it showed great promise (for the show and the composer, definitely) but it was very very slow and draggy in places.

I fully agree the lyrics were a delight, very charming and witty. Even when they ventured into "purple prose" territory (something that generally turns me off) it worked since they were a group of writers and poets. However, they music seemed to all blend together and I honestly got confused if something was a new song, a reprise, a mixture, or if they all just sounded the same.

The book was a slow starter, almost 45 minutes go by of just "I want a colony for artists. I love lamps! You're a poet!? Please stay!" A lot of this could easily be thinned out since the show itself needs a little triming as it is. The direction is also a bit clunkly with all too often the ensemble standing in the shadows singing Auden's poetry, they change their place in the shadows and keep singing, over and over again. The ending also seems to last for 20 minutes. There is a LOT of "wrap up/final moment" even after everyone has moved out. There is a letter from Carsen read, a prospective new tennent turned away, and two reprises that seemed to move like a dirge.

The clear star standout is Kacie Sheik. I honestly felt things didn't start cookin' until her Gyspy intellectual strip number. The song itself was basically a reworking of "Zip," her listing her intellecual/cultural interests and using loads of double entendre.

Stanley Bahorek and Ken Barnett's clowning around also helped the piece when it seemed to be far too serious and dragging the most. Their two songs are highlights.

I normally almost always agree with you Whizzer, but I honestly could not stand Julian Fleisher or Kristen Sieh. It could mostly be their songs are the ones that all bleed together in my ear and sound repetitive and purple.

Fleisher never seems to stop doing maudeline aging drag queen pretending to be Gloria Swanson. He seemed to be playing a campy person cliche and while that IS the character, I wish it were played with more levity a la Charles Busch.

Sieh, to me, was all over the place. Her acting was spot on but her accent was all over the place. I admit I lived in Georgia for a number of years so I'm a little sensitive to that accent when people get it wrong. Her singing voice was absolutely stunning in moments (her lower register) and awkwardly shrill in her higher register. Most of the score seemed to exist in her break and the transistion seemed to hurt her otherwise interesting voice.

The play has some beautiful moments, songs, lyrics, and performances, but is a bit long and takes itself too seriously at times. I would love to see the production carry on with some tinkering and trimming.

It's almost like when people start flinging around words like "vile" and "sickening."

Almost.

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It seems to be a divisive piece, in general. People like it or loathe it. I'm in the former camp (most critics are in the latter), but I do think it needs work. I honestly think it could even be tightened into a one-act, and ultimately focus entirely on McCullers and Davis. But there are so many moments in the piece that make me really like it. "Wanderlust" is my favorite new musical theatre song I've heard this season (bar is set low, admittedly).

I think Sieh and Sheik are both standouts and giving excellent performances.

And you should be glad to know that they're recording the show the week after it closes.

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I'm so glad they're recording. I spent the entire time going "I'm sure with repeated listenings I'll think this score is brilliant." I felt the same way the first time I heard Sonheim's "Passion." So check with me in a year when I'm waxing on about how brilliant the overall net of a score is. haha

Whizzer, very astute point about "The Wild Party." That LaChuisa score is one of my all-time favorites and I definitely see the similarities in structure.

I'm convinced if they trim around 15 minutes (from the opening and closing, mostly) I'd have loved it. I was so enraptured by certain moments and outright bored and checking my watch at others.

I completely admit I'm just being picky accent wise. She may have listened to how Carson actually spoke and her strange I and U sounds were accurate, but they were off-putting to my ear.

I would love to see the piece with a new and stronger director to tighten things up. I do highly reccomend seeing it especially since it's something new, original (well, based on a non fiction book), and by a promising new composer/lyricist.

I have heard recordings of Carson McCullers and yes, Kristen Sieh is giving a near-perfect rendition of that accent. I grew up in Georgia, not very far from where McCullers is from. But even if you've spent as much time in the South as I have, you wouldn't necessarily recognize this version of a Georgia accent unless you lived there in the 30's and 40's. This accent is something of a lost art, a very particular regional accent that I was very glad to hear used accurately and not substituted with some cliche of a hollywood southern voice that so many actors default to.

Her accent was not "all over the place." It was in one very specific place. She did her homework.

I so want to see this. I do hope that it has life beyond this production.

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They aren't trying to be 'mainstream' or commercial.

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It would have been nice if the music had developed a bit of "muscle" from time to time, rather than settling for non-stop prettiness. Musically, it seemed a cross between Ricky Ian Gordon and Adam Guettel - art-song-cum-theatre-music.

I was also bothered by the rather homophobic aspect of deriving the majority of laughs from the flamboyantly nelly/queeny behavior of "those funny homosexuals," in particular George Davis, Benjie Britten and Peter Pears, none of whom were as over-the-top swishing in real life as portrayed in this show. Very cheap shots. If you're going to mock the gay characters, then why not present Gypsy Rose Lee as a raving nymphomaniac (which would also be false-to-life) as well?

The score is the show's strongest asset; I imagine it stands up very well on its own. I didn't purchase the entire recording, but I snagged "Wanderlust", "Ride Out the Light", "Coney Island", and "Goodnight to the Boarding House (Reprise)"- which I found the strongest numbers from the show. "Wanderlust", in particular, is a standout and I think the best musical moment in the score, with some beautiful and evocative lyrics.

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