Paradise Square

Any word from West Coasters on this show at Berkeley Rep? I hear it's eyeing Broadway already. The triumphant return of Garth Drabinsky?

I caught the show Sunday evening in one of its final previews. Be warned - there are some light spoilers ahead.

Paradise Square is an ambitious and often-compelling musical that features some fine performances and choreography. It's a historical show that's based on the events of 1863 in New York City's "Five Points" neighborhood, where Irish immigrants and African-Americans lived alongside each other and, in some cases married, despite tensions that boiled over during the draft riots in the Civil War.

The show is "based on the songs of Stephen Foster," who is also a character in the show. (The real-life Foster died there in 1864.) So it features some well-known Foster melodies, often with new lyrics, as well as other songs by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan. In some ways, as the musical tries to refurbish the reputation of problematic songs by a long-dead composer, it reminded me a bit of Shuffle Along.

Christina Sajous, most recently on Broadway in SpongeBob SquarePants as Sandy Cheeks) stars as Annabelle "Nelly" Freeman, an African-American who is married to a Union solidier who runs a tavern in the neighborhood. He heads off to war, leaving Nelly and his sister Annie to run the bar. Annie also is in an interracial marriage to a local minister who helps escaped slaves. One such slave arrives and is given the name William Henry Lane. He is looking for a place to stay, as is Annie's brother Owen, just arrived from Ireland. Owen is played by A.J. Shively, best known for his role as Billy in Bright Star. William and Owen both happen to be good dancers, so they share the room and provide entertainment to attract customers.

All of this is a bit too idyllic, despite an off-stage tragedy and tensions between Irish immigrants and African-Americans over the latter taking the former's jobs. Nelly and Annie control things at the tavern, and everyone gets along surprisingly well.

The first act covers a lot of plot, side characters, and plenty of Foster music and dancing. (Foster, using a pseudonym because Nelly hates Stephen Foster's past odes to plantation life, hangs around and is portrayed as having an artistic renewal while listening and watching at the tavern.) The dancing is a highlight. Shively isn't as good a dancer as a couple members of the ensemble, both of whom are Irish dancing wizards, but he acquits himself nicely. The African-American dancing is fascinating to watch, though not as flashy as the Irish dancing. Choreographer Bill T. Jones does fine work, and there's a lot happening on a stage with a turntable and multiple levels. I didn't love some of the arrangements of the Foster songs I knew, but one nice thing is that the songs are clearly sung and the lyrics are easily understood.

I agree with other commenters that the first act is too long. It's only about 90 minutes, but it did start to feel as if the writers couldn't find a logical break and were reluctant to cut anything.

The second act has the virtue of brevity but multiple problems. New characters are introduced, in some cases briefly (although Kennedy Caughell - from the Great Comet ensemble - steals her scene as Foster's estranged wife while belting a renamed "Janey (not Jeanie) With the Light Brown Hair." It features a dance competition that feels repetitive on the Irish side and doesn't have much dancing by Sidney Dupont as William. He does sell the song - "Angelina Baker" - very well. But the dance competition detracts from other tensions and the real threat to the tavern - the draft riots that turn deadly and are directed at African-Americans.

Sajous gets a big 11 o'clock number, "Let It Burn," which is marvelously performed. And then it's time for the show to teach a history lesson during the final song, "Beautiful Dreamer." It was only then that the show feels like it's imitating another musical about American history, Hamilton, but it's longer and more talky (although one line packs a nice punch that drew an audible intake of breath from the audience) without explaining one character's fate.

The show is definitely worth seeing, but the book - credited in the program to Kirwan, Craig Lucas (Amelie), and Oakland playwright Marcus Gardley (The House That Will Not Stand and X: Or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation) - flies off in too many directions and doesn't follow up on some dramatic situations it introduces. A few potential conflicts should be trimmed because they are just dropped anyway. That would allow others to expand or fill in blanks.

While I may be giving Paradise Square too much credit for its originality and ambition, I appreciated its originality and ambition - as well as many of the performances. Like any new musical in previews, it has rough patches and weak spots. But the material for an outstanding, original show (albeit with many existing Foster melodies) is already there, and it has some transcendent moments that takes a rose-colored but realistic view of American dreams - and the racial fears and resentment that keep getting in the way.

Updated On: 1/25/19 at 04:38 AM

Craig Lucas is no longer working on the show. Marcus Gardley is the primary book-writer now.

bear88 said: "I caught the show Sunday evening in one of its final previews.Be warned - there are some light spoilers ahead.

Paradise Square is an ambitious and often-compelling musical that features some fine performances and choreography. It's a historical show that's based on the events of 1863 in New York City's"Five Points" neighborhood,where Irish immigrants and African-Americans lived alongside each other and, in some cases married, despite tensions that boiled over during the draft riots in the Civil War.

The show is "based on the songs of Stephen Foster," who is also a character in the show. (The real-life Foster died there in 1864.) So itfeatures some well-known Foster melodies, often with new lyrics, as well as other songs by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan. In some ways, as the musicaltries to refurbish the reputation of problematic songs by a long-dead composer, it remindedme a bit of Shuffle Along.

Christina Sajous, most recently on Broadway in SpongeBob SquarePants as Sandy Cheeks)stars as Annabelle "Nelly" Freeman, an African-American who is married to a Union solidier who runs a tavern in the neighborhood. He heads off to war, leaving Nelly and his sister Annie to run the bar. Annie also is in an interracial marriage to a local minister who helps escaped slaves. One such slave arrives and is given the name William Henry Lane. He is looking for a place to room to stay, as is Annie's brother Owen, just arrived from Ireland. Owen is played by A.J. Shively, best known for his role as Billy in Bright Star. William and Owen both happen to be good dancers, so they share the room and provide entertainment to attract customers.

All of this is a bit too idyllic, despite an off-stage tragedy and tensions between Irish immigrants and African-Americans over the latter taking the former's jobs. Nelly and Annie control things at the tavern, and everyone gets along surprisingly well.

The first act covers a lot of plot, side characters, and plenty of Foster music and dancing. (Foster, using a pseudonym because Nelly hates Stephen Foster's past odes to plantation life, hangs around and is portrayed as having an artistic renewal while listening and watching at the tavern.) The dancing is a highlight. Shively isn't as good a dancer as a couple members of the ensemble, one of whom is an Irish dancing wizard, but he acquits himself nicely. The African-American dancing is fascinating to watch, though not as flashy as the Irish dancing. Choreographer Bill T. Jones does fine work, and there's a lot happening on a stage with a turntable and multiple levels. I didn't love some of the arrangements of the Foster songs I knew, but one nice thing is that the songs are clearly sung and the lyrics are easily understood.

I agree with other commenters that the first act is too long. It's only about 90 minutes, but it did start to feel as if the writers couldn't find a logical break and were reluctant to cut anything.

The second act has the virtue of brevity but multiple problems. New characters are introduced, in some cases briefly (although Kennedy Caughell - from the Great Comet ensemble - steals her scene as Foster's estranged wife while beltinga renamed "Janey (not Jeanie)With the Light Brown Hair."It features a dance competition that feels repetitive on the Irish side and doesn't have much dancing by Sideny Dupont as William. He does sellthe song - "Angelina Baker" - very well. But the dance competition detracts from other tensions and the realthreat to the tavern - the draft riots that turn deadly and are directed at African-Americans.

Sajous gets a big 11 o'clock number, "Let It Burn," which is marvelously performed. And then it's time for the show to teach a history lesson during the final song, "Beautiful Dreamer." It was only then that the show feels like it's imitating another musical about American history, Hamilton, but it's longer and more talky (although one line packsa nice punch that drew an audible intake of breath from the audience)without explaining one character's fate.

The show is definitely worth seeing, but the book - credited in the program toKirwan, Craig Lucas (Amelie), and Oakland playwright Marcus Gardley (The House That Will Not Stand and X: Or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation)-flies off in too many directions and doesn't follow up onsome dramatic situations it introduces. A fewpotential conflictsshould be trimmed because theyare just dropped anyway. That would allow others to expand or fill in blanks.

While I may be giving Paradise Squaretoo much credit for its originality and ambition, I appreciated its originality and ambition - as well as many of the performances. Like any new musical in previews, it has rough patches and weak spots. But the material for an outstanding, original show (albeit with many existing Foster melodies)is already there, and it has some transcendent moments that takes a rose-colored but realistic view of Americandreams- and the racial fears and resentment that keepgetting in the way."

You basically wrote the review that I've been too lazy/busy to write. I also attended last Sunday evening and grabbed a great ticket in the orchestra through Goldstar. The audience seemed very receptive to the show and the physical look of the production was probably the most elaborate staging the Berkeley Rep has done in some time (I wonder if Mr. Drabinsky added any ducats to the production budget).

G. Drabinsky was in attendance and seated in a leather swivel chair orchestra right, with director Moises Kaufman just behind him in row K, four seats down from me.

While a very interesting take on a bit of little-known US history (at least to me), the production kept reminding me at various times of Les Miz, Ragtime and Hamilton. Intimate scenes counterpointed by "epic" scenarios. The blazing choreography in act one became redundant in act two, thus losing some of its heat. While all of the principle actors were very good, the actor who played Stephen Foster made a weak character even weaker IMHO. I was very moved by the 11 o'clock number and the "Beautiful Dreamer" finale brought the show to a moving resolution.

Much work still to be done ... then on to Broadway?

Updated On: 1/9/19 at 05:02 AM

Some more reviews...

Nicole Gluckerstern of KQED, San Francisco's lower PBS station, is mixed-to-positive, a pretty fair take.

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13848500/paradise-square

Jeffrey Edalatpour in SF Weekly has a rather sneering pan.

http://www.sfweekly.com/culture/lord-of-the-dance-moves-in-paradise-square/

Patrick Thomas of Talkin' Broadway is largely positive, although he faults the first act for dragging on too long.

https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/sanfran/s1953.html

Overall, the reviews are a pretty mixed bag, and I'm sure the creatives are disappointed about that. But it's probably better to get some constructive criticism, even if I don't agree with some of it, than the raves that some out-of-town tryouts get. I liked Paradise Square, but I do think the book needs to be fixed and other changes made to bring out its potential.

This is sounding like Ragtime+Shuffle Along+A Bronx Tale. Are there original songs?

They're dropping the Under 35 discount? It doesn't affect me most of the time, except when our daughter is coming along, but that's very unfortunate. Where is the info? The Berkeley Rep tends to attract a pretty old audience, considering that it's located in a college town, a few blocks from campus.

As for the Goldstar tickets, the best offer is $42.50 on Friday, Feb. 15 (surprised that the cheapest tickets are on a Friday).

Surprise news to hear Paradise Square will be holding a tryout in Chicago in November!

I'm fascinated by this, but there are SO MANY people involved...4 living composer/lyricists, 1 dead iconic composer (Stephen Foster), 4 bookwriters, 4 choreographers (Bill T. Jones, Graciela Daniele, Garrett Coleman, Jason Oremus), a director who is also a writer, and a mercurial producer who hasn't produced a good show in this century.

It sounds ambitious and prestigious and an attempted return to the scope of RAGTIME...could be very relevant in 2021 and will employ a sizable number of Black artists, but could also be overstuffed.

If Theatre Twitter dislikes Scott Rudin, wait til they hear Garth Drabinsky is an ex-con!

I see another Black playwright, Christina Anderson, is now co-credited with the book. Anderson is best known for the plays, Inked Baby and Good Goods, neither of which I have seen. I don't believe she was involved in the Berkeley Rep production. Oakland playwright Marcus Gardley, another Black playwright, had already been brought in.

While the show is bringing in more Black creatives and tells a story of race relations, albeit imperfectly, I must say I wonder whether some folks are eager for a show that features a white composer whose most famous songs were often odes to plantation life. That issue was addressed in the Berkeley Rep production but the Stephen Foster character is sympathetic. (The actual Foster lived in the area at the time the musical is set.) Then you add the Drabinsky angle and there will be plenty for people to chew on.

I stand by my review from 2019, although my wife's reaction to hearing about a possible Broadway transfer was to groan. That said, they have certainly had plenty of time to rework the show. What I saw was definitely a work in progress, albeit one that was handsomely produced and well performed.