“Closer Than Ever” at The York Theatre Company Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., Music by David Shire Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The York Theatre Company received a Special Drama Desk Award for its vital contributions to theatre by developing and producing new musicals. Since May 2011, however, York has chosen to celebrate Off Broadway musicals that have previously been produced starting with Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer’s “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road” (1978) and ending with the current offering Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s “Closer Than Ever” (1989).
Off Broadway Musicals from the seventies and eighties translate to the twenty-first century 2012 with a success level which correlates to the pertinence of the characters and conflicts, as well as to the relevance of the concepts and themes of the musicals themselves. For example, the themes of liberation and change that resound in “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road” are enduring and universal and all audience members immediately make rich connections to the material without regard to age, sex, or sexual status. However, because the nature of human relationships and the construct of those relationships have changed dramatically since the nineteen eighties, the themes celebrated in “Closer Than Ever” appeal to a more limited audience. More on this later in the review.
“Closer Than Ever” is a “bookless book musical” (Malty and Shire)that includes twenty-four self-contained songs about the vicissitudes of relationships, including topics like unrequited love (“She Loves Me Not”), aging (“The March of Time”), marriage (“There Is Something in a Wedding” and “Another Wedding Song”) and even life after the end of a marriage (“Dating Again”).
The cast (Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, George Dvorsky, Anika Larsen, and Jamie LaVerdiere) and the musicians (musical director/piano Abdrew Gerle and bassist Danny Weller) breeze through Maltby and Shire’s material with ease and grace and successfully bring every nuance of the lyrics and music to life. Jacquelyn sings through the range of human emotions in “Life Story” and George creates a heartfelt and believable tribute to the importance of generations in “Fathers of Fathers” celebrating all fathers who “walk the face of this earth.”
Just as there is a caveat from author/director Richard Maltby, Jr, there is a caveat for “Closer Than Ever” LGBT audience members. In his Author’s Note, Mr. Maltby reminds the audience that the songs were written in the nineteen eighties; however he affirms that “the interpersonal issues our characters faced haven’t changed much at all, and to us most of these stories still sound pretty much like stories people would tell today.” The caveat for LGBT audience members is that the material is profoundly heterosexual. Maltby and Shire give a nod to LGBT issues in “Doors” with a reference to “a girl that was once a boy,” in “She Loves Me Not” when Jamie and George sing of unrequited love and a reference to one of the female characters grieving the loss of her “partner.”
In a time when gay and lesbian citizens are struggling with issues of equality in marriage, a revival of a musical about human relationships might give more attention to that particular issue. Some of this could be handled easily through Mr. Maltby’s staging simply by adjusting who is standing next to whom in a number like “There Is Something in a Wedding.”
That said, “Closer Than Ever” is a delightful musical which should be enjoyed before it closes on November 25, 2012. It would be equally delightful to see some adjustments that would remove the musical’s heteronormative “ring.” True, the musical was written in the eighties and “it is what it is.” But what is wrong with “it will be what it will be?”
CLOSER THAN EVER
Presented by The York Theatre Company at The York Theatre. Conceived by Steven Scott Smith. Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Music by David Shire. Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Music Direction by Andrew Gerle. Associate Direction and Choreography by Kurt Stamm. Scenic Design by James Morgan. Costume Design by Nicole Wee. Lighting Design by Kirk Bookman.
WITH: Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, George Dvorsky, Anika Larsen, and Jamie LaVerdiere.
Performances of “Closer Than Ever” through November 25, 2012 at The York Theatre, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street (Entrance on 54th Street!) Regular Performance Schedule: Tuesday at 7; Wednesday - Friday at 8; Saturday at 2:30 & 8; Sunday at 2:30 & 7 (Talkbacks follow all Saturday matinee performances). Box Office: (212) 935-5820 ∙ Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday 12-6pm. For more information, visit http://www.yorktheatre.org
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, October 13, 2012
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