By Barbara & Scott Siegel…
As theater historians, as well as critics, we have looked at theater seasons throughout the last 100 years. What marks a great theater season are two basic elements: 1) A couple of major hits that anchor the year — shows that will run and run. 2) An additional wide variety of quality shows that have a lot of elements that not only have impact in the moment, but that one can see will have lasting resonance for the theater and theatergoers. Both of those criteria are being met this season, with the prospect for more shows that have yet to open adding these qualities to the mix before the season is over. Let’s review-:).
Bueno to The Buena Vista Social Club!
In a season with a mediocre revival of Gypsy, it is amazing that there is so much that transcends what should have been one of the best shows of the season. What is marking this season so far, however, isn’t the reliable revival of this or that famous show, but rather the rich tapestry of new shows that are bringing both new concepts and new audiences to Broadway.
In particular, Buena Visa Social Club, is a wow! There is just enough narrative to set up the concept of the show without getting in the way of the music, which is stirring, driving, beautiful, and wonderfully melodic.
Set in two different moments in time, but largely in the days before the revolution in Cuba that brought Fidel Castro to power, the story centers around the choices people made (or could not make) to stay or go. But it’s not about the politics, but rather how the politics affected the musical and personal choices people had to make.
It is also, of course, about how the Buena Vista Social Club Grammy Award winning album came to exist, but that’s just a narrative hook, not the real story of this show, which is all about showcasing the music. And bless them, they do a great job of that. It doesn’t matter that the songs are in Spanish; they are beautiful verging on intoxicating. And all of the performers do them justice.
In addition to multi-threat performers who often play instruments, sing, act, and dance, the production features elegant direction and exquisite sound design. This is a show that can and should play for a very long time on Broadway and it has brilliant prospects for touring.
Operation Mincemeat to the Rescue!
A more idiosyncratic but completely winning musical comedy is Operation Mincemeat. The musical is based on a true story of how British Intelligence during World War II convinced the Nazi’s that the Allies were going to invade Sardinia instead of Sicily. If this sounds serious or nothing at all what you’d expect in a musical comedy, you would be right, but in actual fact, it’s hilariously nutty, cleverly told, and as rich as a fruitcake. The show is from the UK, courtesy of the Spitlip Comedy Troupe in which 5 people play all the parts, and they do so with the wild abandon of their English predecessors, The Monty Python Flying Circus.
While Operation Mincemeat, by its very nature, may not play to as broad an audience as The Buena Vista Social Club or Death Becomes Her, or even Gypsy, it is so much fun, and so creative both in its book and music, that it adds a special luster to this season, simply by being a part of it.
And Off-Broadway – The Jonathan Larson Project
Another worthy addition to the season is The Jonathan Larson Project, an Off-Broadway revue of the early, pre-Rent songs written by its composer before his shocking, untimely death just before Rent’s first Off-Broadway preview performance. While not every song suggest genius, enough of them clearly show his early promise.
From a musical theater history perspective, this is an important show. From a contemporary point of view, as an addition to the theater today, the show is impressive on two fronts: it showcases a talented young cast: Adam Chanler-Berat, Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Marcus, Andy Mientus, and Jason Tam; and it s a superbly directed revue (no small feat) by John Simpkins. So this is a director to keep an eye on for the future.
These three shows are just a taste of what is yet to come. There some great shows we’ve already discussed in past columns, among them English and Maybe Happy Ending, but we haven’t yet even seen such highly anticipated shows as Smash, Boop, Old Friends, Real Women Have Curves, and many others, both on and Off-Broadway. In other words, even if the audiences aren’t fully back after the pandemic, Broadway is! This is shaping up to be the best season in a very long time.