LOVEMUSIK This Afternoon

She was there and she was spectacular. She, of course, is Donna Murphy, who, along with Michael Cerveris and David Pittu, breathe life into one of the most shocking clunkers in recent memory.

A jukebox musical for the upper class, LoveMusik is the sleeper of the season. The entire row in front of me was snoring. I bought my ticket last night (via the so-called expired discount code on BroadwayBox), seeing that it was a 1 PM show. I wondered why it was so early until I arrived at the theater: student matinee.

The only students I saw were the snoring ones in front of me (it looked like a Boys and Girls club high school group) and a bunch of kids in the first few rows, all of whom had to be shushed whenever something "sexy" happened. When the people in front of me weren't snoring, they were playing on their Sidekicks and iPods. Their group leader? Busily snoring away, as well.

That said, I wish the show lived up to the expectations I had for it. Alfred Uhry's clunky book with no real story arc mixed with Hal Prince's bland direction made for one especially disappointing afternoon. The only "inspired" thing I saw was Weill's death, a scene, of course, nobody else got because they didn't spell it out.

Half-an-hour could easily be cut with no problems, the bizarre Illusion Wedding has no point; ditto the Moritat (Mack the Knife), since it's not sung in any particular context. And so forth. Insert what you want to be cut HERE, and I'll probably agree.

The highlight, of course, was Schickelgruber, which put Springtime for Hitler to shame.

Great performances all around. Terrific ensemble. John Scherer is very good in a wasted part, David Pittu should win the Tony for his take on Brecht. The always reliable Cerveris and Murphy certainly made the show and did not disappoint. I'd give Cerveris the Tony, if I were a voter. And, I certainly wish this year for a tie between Ebersole and Murphy, who is giving just a mind-blowingly extraordinary performance, despite the fact that she and Mike have zero chemistry.

I have never seen a show struggle so hard to be pompous, only to fail miserably. Brechtian alienation, pomposity at its finest, is applied so poorly that it becomes a cartoon. Whose idea was it to have supertitles in Comic Sans?

My one complaint? Their accents were so hard to understand, they may as well have been speaking in German.

Updated On: 5/16/07 at 05:20 PM

Fabulous review, as always.

I was there today too! God those kids bugged me. But really the worst part was when anyone would have any sort of reaction to what was going on and would be immediately "ssshhhh!!!!"ed. But after the first scene it wasn't much of an issue.

I went in wholly expecting to love it (despite everything I've read) and actually I left not being THAT disappointed. From the first song to the first scene all I could think was "yes, this is my kind of show..." however, that feeling dissipated quickly. It really would have been much more powerful had they cut the ensemble altogether, though they did a fine job. The first couple of scenes were nicely intimate between Weill and Lenya, and after that it sort of shattered off into different random scenes and it lost its impact.

Needless to say, Cerveris and Murphy were incredible. I don't know if they were supposed to have chemistry really. They were awfully cold to each other, maybe that's the way it really was. I thought it worked. As much as I loved Raul in Company, honestly it is a toss-up for Best Actor in my mind. Cerveris did so many little things that perfectly captured the character, and his singing was excellent. The last song he sings (I forget the title and I don't have my playbill in front of me) pretty much brought me to tears. Unfortunately that was one of the few times I really was invested in what was going on. Scenes would end so suddenly that I didn't quite get a chance to get carried into the story.

Murphy also formed an amazing character and I loved her from the first moment she was onstage. I thought her transition from Act I and Act II was fine (I had read that it was almost like two completely different characters, but I didn't feel that way). Surabaya Johnny didn't stop the show like I had heard it did. Maybe it was due to all the coughing during the dramatic pauses that ruined the moment, but I didn't find it to be a show-stopping number. While she was excellent, I never got an "oh, WOW" moment from her like I did with Ebersole (multiple times)...this probably has more to do with the writing than the performance.

And yeah, what the hell was that wedding number? I don't even know. It ruined the entire feel that the show was going for and was so unnecessary. And while I liked David Pittu as Brecht I don't know if he deserves a Tony for it, his voice was very strange and nasally...I liked John Gallagher better.

I agree, yankee, that there was not a very strong arc to the story. I couldn't quite pick out a beginning, middle, and end. It just sort of ended and I was like, "oh, okay I guess it's over." So while I definitely wasn't satisfied with the production, I don't think it failed as much as others have said. This was probably due to the performances. It's so sad that this piece had SO much potential and they pretty much ruined it. It was totally worth seeing though, for the performances, and there were parts that I enjoyed.

Oh, re: German accents. Yes, they were so heavy, it was difficult to understand unless you were listening reeeeally closely. And I'm pretty sure they DID sing a couple of things in German, no? At one point I could not make out what Donna Murphy was singing at all so I figured it had to be German. Anyway, those are my thoughts, jammed together in no particular order.

Updated On: 5/16/07 at 08:34 PM

They sang a lot in German....I could understand that better than their English.

Thanks, DRG.


Edit: Yankeefan beat me to it. I don't know if that's the song or not, I'm not really familiar with Weill's music. And I didn't think the show was boring really, just very poorly executed.

Updated On: 5/16/07 at 08:47 PM

Strange and nasally.

It was definitely one of my favorite songs, but I was sort of wishing to have Alan Cumming's voice singing it (that's the only other version I've heard of the song, from the Tony awards).

It sounds like they may have used the Blitzstein version of Tango - hooray! I am thinking this will be my next ticket - after COMPANY (again). The German accent in the clips drives me wild but I do like Weill's music.

Is there any nudity in this show or not?
No one has mentioned it.

It's a tough year for women. Great performances from 4/5 nominees.

"I'd give Cerveris the Tony, if I were a voter." So glad to hear that.

Here is my problem with Hal Prince's use of Brecht's alienation effect et al. That was used to separate the actors and audience emotionally from the show so they understand the social commentary. LOVEMUSIK - as its title more than suggests - is a show about one of the deepest human emotions: love. Why would you purposely direct with a method that works to separate the emotion from the action when your show is all about love?

Weill is the anti-romantic hero that somehow arouses sympathy for his plight and somewhat self-immolation. And Cerveris does just that.

I think the actors have chemistry. The characters don't. And they nailed that completely.

Since I said it in the other thread: Brecht has a pretty wild voice.

It is Ballad (not Battle) of the Pimp. Since there are so many translations it is often called Tango-Ballade. My personal favorite is KNOCKING SHOP TANGO, though that would not have fit in to LOVEMUSIK.
Brecht sings Mack the Knife

I have been interested in reading reviews about LOVEMUSIK.

I danced in one Kurt Weill musicaal, ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, and was able to observe Weill and Lenya--who came to rehearsals--at a distance, so what I have to say is only based on insights and what the other girls and I put together.

Yes, I do think that Weill and Lenya loved each other--but it was not in a physical way. I would say that it was more a meeting of the minds, rather than the heart. Yes, Kurt Will did rely on feedback from Lenya, but when it came to sex, Weill chased any beautiful girl that could move. And, he was much better looking in preson than in photographs. Lenya did not seem to care. I was always under the impression that Lenya was a lesbian, and there was enough talk going around about her passion and love for women. While this was not discussed then as it is now, I really wonder if Weilll's and Lenya's sexuality could have been used more in the book to show how they functioned as people and how this relationship impacted on Weill's writing. I am not saying that Weill and Lenya did not have a sexual relationship, but it seemed more to me that as a a couple of intellectual brilliance, they were beyond reproach, much more than a Rodgers and Hammerstein. While much has been written about Lenyha's passionate affairs with men, especially Otto Pasetti, I can't bring myself to believe it.

I have not seen the show, so I can only comment on what I've read and what I've heard from friends in the United States. I think the writers may have shied away from Lenya's sexuality and whitewashed the whole thing. Perhaps if they hadn't it might have been more interesting.

This is no way a criticism of Weill and lenya. Harold Price knew Lenya, so he is more familiar with her.

Still, I wonder!

Miriam

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