Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Members of the Hallé Orchestra
Conducted by James Burton
Director : Braham Murray
Choreographer : Andrew Wright
The appeal of this show for me should be obvious; a Bernstein score is never negligible, and there are some real plums in Wonderful Town, which is another of Bernstein's love-letters to New York City. Based on the play My Sister Eileen, it's about two sisters coming to the Big Apple from Ohio, the elder to become a writer and journalist, the younger to become an actress. The piece as a whole is an affectionately humorous caricature of Greenwich Village, supposedly in 1935 (the show was created in 1953), the bohemian heart of Manhattan, and the plethora of colourful, not to say eccentric characters that might be found there.
Rightly, Murray's production doesn't insist too hard on the period, because neither Bernstein's music, nor the Comden and Green lyrics make any real attempt at an authentic period setting. For example, there's a reference to the CIA at one point, an agency which did not exist in 1935. As for the score, in typically eclectic Bernstein fashion it flirts with styles of all periods, but the dance numbers are definitely more redolent of the 50s, and the nascent Beat movement, than of the Great Depression. So the production too is not over-specific, although there were moments that reminded me strongly of the lampoons of the 50s counter-culture, like those seen in the films Funny Face or The Rebel.
It was Rosalind Russell who created the role of Ruth in the original play and in Wonderful Town, and her shadow has always hung heavy over the part. She had a limited vocal range (as she famously and bluntly informed Bernstein during discussions over the show), something of a buzz-saw quality to the timbre, and the ability to speak very fast. The show's creators took all that and made use of it, and any subsequent interpreter has had to cope with the very specific results.
Although Connie Fisher's timbre is pleasing, the patter aspects of certain songs, notably 100 Easy Ways To Lose A Man, which is half the joke, were diluted because they were slowed down. Also, she doesn't have the projection necessary, her tone too soft to be heard through the band at times - some re-balancing of the sound system might be advisable - and that causes problems at times, notably with Swing, where Ruth's stream-of-consciousness shtick lost definition and became incomprehensible. Other than that, however, it was a sympathetic performance, unaffected and appealing, but nicely wry in contrast to Lucy van Gasse's perky and wide-eyed Eileen. The third principal role, that of editor Bob Baker, was strongly played by Michael Xavier, who also had all the vocal clarity and strength anyone could wish for. His first number, What a Waste, was particularly effective.
Otherwise, the show is full of a host of small, but significant parts. Nic Greenshields was excellent as the dumb but decent football player Wreck, while Paul Hawkyard and the boys of the chorus opened the second act in fine style with the cod-Irish number My darlin' Eileen, but full marks to all the cast for the bright verve they brought to their performances. The band was good, but I do think the amping was a little loud. I know it's customary, but I can't help wondering what it was like for these shows originally, before amplification became standard for both band and singers. Still, this was an enjoyable staging of a witty and highly entertaining show.
[Next: 12th May]
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