|
The Boys Are Coming Home
A new musical
Music & Lyrics by Leslie Arden
Book by Berni Stapleton
Conceived by Timothy French
Directed by Gary Griffin
Choreographed by Timothy French
Produced by the American Music Theatre Project
And the Department of Theatre and the Theatre & Interpretation Center of Northwestern University
At the Barber Theatre
39 Arts Circle Drive
Evanston campus
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Call 897-491-7282, tickets $30
Sunday, August 6 at 2 PM
Thursday, August 10 at 8 PM
Friday, August 11 at 8 PM
Saturday, August 12 at 8 PM
Sunday, August 13 at 2 PM
Running time is 2 hours, 30 minutes
The Boys Are Coming Home is a smart, moving musical with an outstanding book.
The second production from Northwestern University’s American Music Theatre Project is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Featuring the fresh music style and lyrics from Canadian Leslie Arden (The House of Martin Guerre) with a wonderfully intelligent book from Bernie Stapleton, AMTP’s artistic director Stuart Oken has selected an immensely worthy musical to present. The Boys Are Coming Home is an enjoyable, refreshingly intelligent musical.
Boys is set in 1945 just after the end of World War II. It explores the new order of the male-female relationships that came into being when females took over traditionally male jobs while the men served abroad fighting fascism in the last “good war.” Boys has a strong book (Bernie Stapleton) that aptly depicts the early rise in liberating ideas from the women who supported the war effort by doing manual labor that eventually lead to extensive changes for women in society in the 1960’s. Rosie the Riveter paved the way.
 |
Boys is a modern 21st Century musical in the style of the 1940’s, “right on the cusp of swing and bebop,” said Arden. “What a beautiful musical metaphor for a show…which was a catalyst for overwhelming social, racial and political change. At the same time, ‘bebop’… (was) bending and breaking the old, comfortable musical rules, exploring new harmonies and rhythms while refusing to play it safe.” Arden deftly found a musical voice suggesting the era while structuring the songs in a way to present the themes and the personal stories of the characters. The musical has hints of Duke Ellington, Gershwin, Frank Loesser, and a little Sondheim and, of course, much Leslie Arden.
 |
Add the clever staging from director Gary Griffin and the era correct dances from choreographer Timothy French and Boys becomes a nostalgic, bouncy musical treat that contains story specific lyrics that smoothly moves the play along. You be hard pressed to find a more effective combination of music, singing and movement to tell a story. Boys is, indeed, a musical play containing strong elements of social change fostered by the world war.
The opening scenes are a tad too long yet the stirring duet “You Could Never Understand” featuring Charlie, a returning hero (the talented Jarrod Zimmerman) and Helen, the devoted girlfriend (Emily Thompson) speaks to the trauma suffered by the soldiers fighting overseas and the angst from the worrying working women left behind.
The shop stopper, “The Bebop Boy” features Maggie (Harriet Nzinga Plumpp), an African-American bopping in an all-white tavern. She thrills the crowd but is also asked to leave after the song. Boys directly references the racial segregation of the era.
We then see the love-hate rivalry between the riveter Bea (the fabulous singer/comic talent from 19 year old Northwestern sophomore Catherine Brookman) and Ben Taylor (Broadway veteran James Rank), the independent minded returning soldier. These two battle exchanging barbs, quips and zingers in a humorous courtship that inevitably will lead to marriage. Rank and Brookman have a marvelous, zesty chemistry that is a joy to watch combining fine vocals with cute comic turns.
The men musically hint in three-part harmony to Ben who actually adores Bea, who also loves him and the women also in three-part harmony sing to Bea about Ben’s enchantment with her while both are stranded in the barber/beauty show chairs in the cute “Never be Mine” song.
In the powerful “One Step Forward” song, Bea, Helen and Shirley (Morgan Weed) and the girls sing a strong anthem that depicts the plight of women who moved two steps forward during the war and one step backward when the boys return to their jobs. Arden’s lyrics speak to the determination of, at least, a few of the women to not move back into subservient housewives. This is a strong number.
In Act II, Helen, Bea and Shirley help Maggie and Brad (Ross Brendlinger) meet at Helen’s house for secret rendezvous to hide their interracial romance.
We heard the sweet love song, “Time Stands Still” from father, Leo (tender moments from veteran Jonathan Weir) to his daughter, Helen as she gets dressed for her wedding.
Charlie and the General (Larry Adams), gets enticed by the jealous John (the intensely powerful Michael Rosenblum) to hide in Helen’s garden to witness Helen escorting Brad into her bedroom. Proof that Helen has been unfaithful to Charlie? Charlie attacks Helen on the alter in the stunning number “I Don’t Know Her” delivered with rage by Jarrod Zimmerman.
After much consternation form the family and friends, Catherine Brookman’s Bea delivers the strong “If I Were a Man” attack toward Charlie. Then the players sing “Things I Miss About The War,” an anthem to their struggle with all the social and personal changes during the war years. This number has marvelous telling lyrics as each of the players has their say.
Leo questions his daughter based on the ‘fact’ that she did have Brad visit her room with “I Don’t Know You.” But Ben helps right the wrong that Helen was only secretly helping Brad and Maggie’s romance. Helen is absolved and Charlie is ashamed and re-proposes to Helen.
The “Love Letters” song has Bea writing her feelings to Ben and Ben to her in a marvelous, powerfully sung duet that reminded me of a Jennet McDonald/Nelson Eddy operetta song.
In a smart ending, Helen doesn’t forgive Charlie for his vicious attack in the church at the wedding ceremony. Rather she tells Charlie that they’ll have to “Start Again” because you can’t really go backward, that we must start now to move forward to discover who were have become. This hopeful, uplifting number ends a terrifically satisfying show. I might advise the producers to consider adding a generic version of “Start Again” as the opening song since it beautifully sets the theme of the show.
The Boys Are Coming Home will be re-named One Step Forward when it opens at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival of New Works in New York City on October 8, 2006. Can Broadway be far behind? Kudos to Stuart Oken and Dominic Missimi for selecting such as smart, tuneful musical.
Get your ticket soon since there are only four performances left in this run.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2006
|
![[Im]Propriety](../assets/images/autogen/_Im_Propriety_Np1.GIF "[Im]Propriety"){kind=small}
