Just got home and have a few thoughts. I think dreary is an excellent word for it. The first act is quite dull, but act two improves with the actual advancement of the plot. The songs sound similar and often have a monotonous quality to them, although there a few numbers that rise about the rest.
The strongest thing about the show is easily the cast, all of whom are committed and giving good to excellent performances. Even when there's not much to make of the material they'll all go down trying.
The set is massive, the lighting moody and dark, the costumes much the same. Very reminiscent of Rocky, except there aren't as many moving pieces to the set and the central space is kept more open.
The plot (what there is of it) and milieu is extremely derivative of several shows we've just seen, including Kinky Boots and especially Billy Elliot and Fanny. In fact act one is basically Billy Elliot without the dancing. Imagine the miners singing song after song about how they can't mine anymore and you've got it. Instead of a young boy who just wants to pirouette we know have Gideon (Michael Esper) who just wants to brood and scowl. He pulled a Marius 15 years ago and left Fanny when the sea called him away. Now he's back Fanny (Meg in this story) has a 15 year child that she's been raising with a much hunkier Panisse (Arthur- Aaron Lazar). A love triangle worthy of General Hospital ensues.
Back on the Billy Elliot side of things, the shipyard has been closed and some corporate guy wants to hire everyone in the town as salvage yard workers, but they won't be building ships anymore so the townspeople will have nothing of it. They decide (for some reason) that they're going to build one last ship and sail it around the area (world?). Plotholes abound with how exactly they're going to build this ship, but just like Noah's ark it will find a way to be built I guess.
I think Michael Esper did some nice work, and he shares the best song in the show with Collin Kelly-Sordelet called "The Night the Pugilist Learned How To Dance." Awful song title, ha, but it really was a wonderful song and beautifully staged. The other great song went to Aaron Lazar in act one called, "What Say You, Meg?" Sally Ann Triplett led the ensemble in a big act two number that was kind of weird, kind of cool. The rest of the score sadly didn't make much of an impression. Sort of a Rocky situation for me.
It hardly felt like a first preview. Everything was polished, professional and ran smoothly.
I wish I had liked it more, but I just couldn't warm to the characters and care about their plight. I was a big fan of Billy Elliot and shed many a tear at the Imperial, but these people left me cold.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
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