Welcome to the Fun Home

Review: Fun Home

Beth Malone (left) as the fully grown Alison reflects on her younger self (Emily Skeggs) in the new Broadway musical Fun Home.

There's much to admire about Fun Home, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron's daring new chamber musical currently playing Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. This intimate story of a lesbian cartoonist's coming of age and her complex relationship with her father tackles aspects of the human experience rarely portrayed onstage, and Tesori's bravura score and Kron's nuanced book push the boundaries of the musical form into interesting and even surprising new places. But the show falls just shy of taking flight thanks to a couple of misguided dramaturgical choices that may accurately reflect the protagonist's life but don't make for the most effective theatre.

Based on the graphic memoir of the same name, Fun Home follows Alison Bechdel at three different stages of her life (for those who are interested, this is the same Alison Bechdel who coined the famed Bechdel test to evaluate gender bias in fictional media). The eldest of three children, the headstrong Alison was raised by her actress mother and closeted gay father, who also served as director of the Bechdel Family Funeral Home. After struggling with her sexuality throughout her adolescent and young adult years, the now grown Alison returns to her family home to reminisce about her upbringing and try to find closure to her relationship with her now deceased father.

It is an intensely personal story, undermined by the fact that it too clearly telegraphs where it's headed. Alison spells out exactly what kind of man her father was within the first couple of scenes, and unfortunately nothing in the following 90 minutes broadens that description or deepens it. While observing Alison's interactions with her family at different stages of her life remains engaging, all the characters stay much the same as when we meet them, which robs the show of the thrill of discovery. There is a slight but crucial difference between watching characters go on a journey and taking that journey with them, and unfortunately Fun Home tends towards the former when it would be so much more affecting to do the latter. The most maddening thing is that by removing just a few lines of expository dialogue at the beginning, that sense of discovery could be restored and Fun Home would be one of the most emotionally stirring musicals in years. (Imagine if Next to Normal spelled out exactly what was going on with Diana and her family by its third song; the show would still be very good, but it wouldn't have the emotional impact which garnered it universal acclaim.)

That said, this slight but crucial mistake doesn't take away from the brilliance of much of the writing, even if it does dampen our emotional involvement. Tesori has written her most accomplished score to date, weaving a variety of styles and musical genres into a cohesive, stimulating whole. The repeated melodic motifs are smartly implemented, and there are times when the moment to moment writing is so strong it makes you momentarily forget that you've already been told where this is all headed. "Changing My Major" is the purest expression of the joy and terror of a first sexual encounter ever put on stage. "Ring of Keys" is a wonderfully pure portrait of a young girl first realizing she's different but isn't alone, with Lisa Kron's deceptively simple lyrics framing a bevy of deep observations in the voice of a 10 year old child. These introspective character songs are interspersed with comedy pastiches like the throwback "Come to the Fun Home" (hilariously performed by the three elementary age Bechdel children) or the Partridge Family-esque "Raincoat of Love."

Tesori's score meshes seamlessly with Kron's highly nuanced book, in which the dialogue scenes are more akin to something you'd see in a play than your typical musical. In a medium where most things are overtly stated, a lot of the most interesting moments in Fun Home focus on what's not being said. Kron's dialogue is naturalistic and yet specific enough to give scenes dramatic shape, and that voice carries over into her largely unrhymed lyrics, further contributing to the show's conversational feel. Kron also handles the framing device of adult Alison narrating her life with aplomb, providing enough thematic connective tissue to prevent the constant shifting of time periods from feeling chaotic or confusing. Like Tesori's music, Kron's book is at its weakest when it falls into the habits that characterize more traditional musicals, making something explicit when the authors and audience are smart enough to handle a more implicit approach.

The cast is uniformly strong, effortlessly navigating the musical's tonal shifts and unusually nuanced approach. Beth Malone has the central and often thankless role of the fully grown Alison, who narrates the evening's events and watches them unfold with the audience. Malone doesn't really get to interact with her fellow performers until she replaces her younger self during the climatic "Telephone Wire" scene, when all the simmering intensity of her performance finally boils over in a desperate plea to be heard. As the youngest version of Alison (dubbed Small Alison in the program), newcomer Sydney Lucas dazzles in a beautifully naturalistic performance. Her delivery of the aforementioned "Ring of Keys" is first rate, and Lucas' large and knowing eyes convey dozens of thoughts and feelings her character isn't quite sure how to express. And Emily Skeggs perfectly portrays Alison during her formative college years, capturing the yearning and passion of someone who has finally given themselves permission to be the person they always wanted to be.

Michael Cerveris does fantastic work as Alison's father Bruce, virtually disappearing inside his character's nebbish skin. Bruce is a complex, deeply conflicted man, who like his daughter is struggling to express himself in a world that isn't really ready to acknowledge him. Although he fits the distant father archetype, Cerveris makes it abundantly clear that Bruce loves his daughter and feels a particularly strong kinship with her, even if his own identity issues prevent him from adequately expressing that love. It's unfortunate we don't get more of Bruce's side of the story, although this makes sense given that the musical is told almost exclusively from Alison's point of view; she wouldn't be privy to the reasoning behind Bruce's choices, particularly given his untimely death. It's also unfortunate that Judy Kuhn as Alison's mother Helen is largely relegated to the sidelines in favor of the Alison/Bruce relationship. Not only is Kuhn's voice heavenly, but her expert handling of the wistful "Days and Days" late in the show really makes you wish she had more of a presence throughout.

Director Sam Gold has done an excellent job shepherding this material to the stage, including seamlessly adapting to the Circle in the Square's famed and often problematic in the round staging. You'd never know the show was originally mounted in a more traditional proscenium setting during its Off-Broadway run, which goes to show how thoroughly Gold and his design team have rethought their approach. David Zinn's set makes excellent use of the stage, and combined with Ben Stanton's lights really help define the somewhat nebulous playing space into distinct and recognizable areas. Zinn's costumes also perfectly capture the disco-era setting of most of the musical's action, with a mighty assist from hair and wig designer Paul Huntley's delightful 70s bobs.

Overall, Fun Home is an incredibly strong and at times provocative piece of theatre. It pushes the boundaries of the Broadway musical in both form and content, giving voice to a segment of the community that rarely sees themselves portrayed seriously and honestly onstage. And yet the lack of dramatic tension caused by so clearly laying out the show's plot in the opening moments keeps it from fully engaging on an emotional level, an incredibly frustrating situation given the obviously intelligent and talented artists involved. Fun Home definitely deserves to be seen, a very good show that doesn't quite achieve the greatness one would hope.

"Hamilton" Brings a Revolution to the Public

Review: Hamilton

"Look around, look around/At how lucky we are to be alive" in a world that gives birth to shows like the transcendent Hamilton.

Believe the hype. Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop historical opus that has the entire town buzzing, is every bit as good as you've heard. This kinetic, high-energy production fuses old and new with an energy and drive seldom seen in this world of mass appeal musicals, ironically resulting in a show with wider appeal to both traditional and non-traditional theatregoers than 95% of the past decade's hits. A work of singular vision and uncompromising artistic integrity, Hamilton builds upon the promise of Miranda's In the Heights to become a dazzling celebration of American history and the unlimited malleability of the musical theatre, one of the few distinctly American art forms.

At its core, Hamilton is the story of how an orphaned immigrant used his intelligence and drive to not just make a difference but quite literally change the world. Alexander Hamilton was instrumental in founding this county, laying the groundwork for our entire economic system before his untimely death at the hands of former colleague Aaron Burr. The musical breathlessly covers the life and numerous accomplishments of one of America's least discussed Founding Fathers, while simultaneously showcasing the pulse-pounding energy and excitement of the birth of our nation. Despite dense plotting and potentially dry subject matter, Hamilton is never anything less than engrossing, making centuries old events feel both cool and relevant.

Hamilton eclipses Miranda's Tony-winning In the Heights score in every way possible, expanding on the traits which garnered Miranda notice and rewriting the book on the types of music that can work in the theatre. Completely sung-through, Hamilton contains an abundance of rap passages backed by hip-hop beats, dizzyingly deft in their specificity, inventiveness, and poetic nuance. R&B also features heavily in the score, whether its the tight harmonies of "The Schuyler Sisters" (which reimagines Hamilton's future wife and her sisters as a Destiny's Child-esque girl group) or the smooth yet ominous club rhythms of "The Room Where It Happens." Richly textured harmonies and complex syncopation are the score's hallmarks, but for all the musical skill on display the songs remain accessible, hummable, and thoroughly engaging. The rapid fire rhymes sound as natural as speaking, with everything filtered through just enough of a traditional showtune sensibility to keep things from sounding jarring.

As refreshingly unique as Miranda's score is the show's beautifully multi-ethnic cast, a group of supremely talented individuals who inhabit Hamilton's world seamlessly. No one even partially resembles their real life counterparts, but they convey the essence of these historical figures flawlessly. They reflect the ethnic makeup of modern day America, and in doing so drive home the point that our Founding Fathers' dreams are universal. By the end of the show's knockout opening number the unconventional casting fades to the background, allowing the story to take center stage and boldly commenting on race by refusing to comment on it (the casts' ethnicities aren't even jokingly acknowledged). One can only hope the unmitigated success of Hamilton as a piece of theatre triggers an increased open-mindedness among all creative teams when it comes to color-blind casting.

Miranda tackles the title role with aplomb, his natural charisma keeping Hamilton deeply sympathetic even when his actions veer towards the unsavory (the show strikes the perfect balance between acknowledging its subject's flaws without reveling in them). Miranda has smartly tailored the role to his strengths while stretching himself just enough to keep things interesting; he is particularly affecting during a second act scene which finds Hamilton's oldest son wounded in a duel. As Hamilton's wife Eliza, Phillipa Soo has little to do in the show's first act but several standout moments in the second, including "It's Quiet Uptown" and the haunting ballad "Burn." Brian D'Arcy James* has a scene stealing turn as England's King George, who views the newly formed America with all the jealous disdain of a jilted lover. Christopher Jackson is suitably imposing as George Washington, and Daveed Diggs and Okieriete Onaodowan are hilarious in multiple roles.

As Hamilton's friend/rival Aaron Burr, the phenomenal Leslie Odom Jr. commands the stage in a star-making performance of startling depth, breadth, and nuance. Calling to mind Shakespeare's Iago - although an Iago with a bit more substance behind his grievances - Odom makes it abundantly clear he deeply admires Hamilton, even as Burr's career ambitions put the pair increasingly at odds with one another. Odom's full throttled performance of the aforementioned "Room Where It Happens" is an especially memorable showstopper in an evening full of such numbers, and watching his soul-shattering realization of the cost of his ambition during the show's finale is heartwrenching.

Finally, Renee Elise Goldsberry is an absolute revelation as Eliza Hamilton's older sister Angelica, making a character that could easily fade into the background pop every moment she's onstage. Goldsberry is never less than riveting even before her big number, the dazzling, tour de force "Satisfied." Goldsberry provides a play's worth of character development over the course of this R&B stunner, a breathtaking achievement in songwriting and performance that may well be the highlight of the entire evening.

As the ringmasters of this historical circus, director Thomas Kail and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler have created one of the most fluid and visually appealing stagings in years. While the pair makes excellent use of David Korins' absolutely gorgeous unit set (complete with a triple turntable), they are never reliant on the set to provide visual interest, constantly finding new and intriguing stage pictures and scene transitions. The pair work so well together its nearly impossible to tell where one's contribution ends and the other's begins, with Blankenbuehler's high-impact choreography growing seamlessly from Kail's propulsive staging and then just as organically fading into the background. Most importantly, Kail and Blankenbuehler have imbued the piece with a forward momentum the keeps things moving throughout the show's 2 hour and 45 minute runtime.

Like any new musical, Hamilton could stand a few tweaks before its impending Broadway transfer, but it cannot be overstated how entertaining, informative, and moving this work already is. Lin-Manuel Miranda has written a work of genius that seems destined to join the pantheon of groundbreaking works like A Chorus Line or Rent, one of the rare new musicals that arrives with a lot of fanfare and still manages to exceeds expectations. The show combines contemporary musical styles with historical subject matter in a manner brimming with wit, invention, and razor sharp intelligence, performed by a thrillingly multi-ethnic cast giving the performances of their lives. This is a show that doesn't just need to be seen but demands to be seen, and anyone lucky enough to snag a ticket to the downtown run is in for the theatrical event of the season. For everyone else, I recommend snatching up a seat to the Broadway run when they go onsale March 8th; whatever you have to pay, it will be worth it to see theatrical history being made.



*Note: Since I saw this show, the role of King George has been taken over by Tony-nominee Jonathan Groff so that Brian D'Arcy James can prepare for the Broadway musical Something Rotten.

Why "Hamilton's" Producers Made the Right Decision

Lin-Manuel Miranda's sung through Hamilton is moving uptown this summer, ending weeks of speculations about when and how it would make its Broadway bow.

After a couple of brief but intense weeks of speculation, we now know the timeline for the Broadway transfer of Lin-Manuel Miranda's critically acclaimed Hamilton. The producers of the hip-hop musical just announced a July 13th start date for the production's Main Stem bow, which means everyone can stop speculating and start lining up for tickets. The question was never if Hamilton would transfer, which was a given based on the thrice-extended tuner's ticket sales and over the moon reviews, but rather when, with the most popular rumor stating that producers were desperately trying to get the show to Broadway in time for this year's Tony eligibility cutoff.

The truth is preferable to the rumors for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is timing. I always found the rumblings of a spring transfer dubious because of the extremely accelerated timeline it called for, which among other things would have involved cancelling the musical's lucrative extension at the Public Theatre. While technically possible (the show's contract with the Public allowed for the extension to be cancelled in favor of a Broadway run), such a move would have been horrible customer service to the show's ticketholders and created a rescheduling nightmare for the Public and the show.

Furthermore, the only Broadway theatre up for grabs is the Richard Rodgers, which will continue to house If/Then until that show's March 22nd closing date. By the time stagehands managed to load out If/Then's complex set and load in Hamilton's, not to mention the week of technical rehearsals the cast would need to get accommodated to their new playing space, the show would have an extremely limited preview period if it wanted to open before the April 23rd eligibility cutoff. Press performances would have started almost immediately, which would preclude any kind of rewrites, trimming, or tightening up of the show before it was thrust onto the most high profile stage in the country.

I also never understood how a spring transfer would benefit the Public Theatre, which helped develop Hamilton and will surely have a stake in the Broadway production. In addition to having to refund/reschedule thousands of tickets for the cancelled performances, premiering Hamilton on Broadway during the same season as Fun Home (another critically acclaimed musical which originally debuted at the Public) would pit two of the non-profit's highest profile titles against one another. Fun Home's intriguing but decidedly non-commercial premise means its only real hope at a healthy Broadway run is critical acclaim, and if Hamilton were added to this spring's slate the reportedly game-changing historical show would surely dominate most of the spring press and awards talk. By delaying Hamilton's Broadway bow, the Public could potentially have two Tony winning musicals to add to its resume instead of one, with all the added prestige and additional income that implies.

The show's current timeline makes much more sense, both commercially and artistically. By taking a 3 month break between the end of the Off-Broadway run and the beginning of Broadway previews, Miranda and his artistic team have time to rethink elements of the show they might not be entirely satisfied with. It also gives everyone, cast and crew, a chance to catch their breath before diving into a rigorous and open-ended Broadway production schedule. The hip-hop musical is also one of the few shows that might actually sustain a summer opening, a time when a majority of the focus is on the past season's Tony winners and the long-running tourist friendly shows. Given the massive level of buzz surrounding Hamilton, I imagine the initial months will sell well and possibly even sell out primarily on the strength of its Off-Broadway reviews and already high demand (The Public run is entirely sold out despite the three aforementioned extensions). By the time fall rolls around good reviews and word of mouth should have spread far enough to get the tourists interested, and it will get a virtually guaranteed boost in ticket sales once the 2016 awards season starts in earnest.

It looks like Hamilton is going to be the kind of blockbusting hit Broadway hasn't seen for several seasons, so I would recommend any interested parties book tickets as soon as they go onsale March 8th. It really is looking like we're going to have a Book of Mormon level critical and commercial hit on our hands, and I suspect anyone who waits until performances begin to look for tickets is going to have a hard time tracking one down. And when they do, they could well have to pay an arm and a leg for the privilege of seeing the show, which is something Hamilton is already slightly infamous for.

I know I'll be buying my tickets when they go onsale! And as soon as I get in to see it, you can certainly expect a full review!

Hamilton and the "Not-For-Profit" Off-Broadway Theatre Scene

This is as close as most of us will be able to get to Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda's much ballyhooed new musical about one of America's founding fathers.

Anyone hoping to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's hotly anticipated new musical Hamilton better already have tickets. The show's thrice extended world premiere at the Public Theatre was essentially sold out even before the show opened to rapturous reviews on Tuesday night, making the chances of finding a ticket now about as likely as winning the lottery. Which is wonderful for Miranda, the actors, the Public Theatre, and the producers who are surely already plotting a Broadway transfer, but is maybe not the best thing for the Off-Broadway theatre scene.

Why? Because the Public Theatre, a non-profit which spends a great deal of time talking about making theatre accessible to everyone, has been charging almost Broadway level prices for the privilege of seeing this apparently groundbreaking new work. Regular tickets run $120, whereas Public Theatre members - who have already made a donation in support of this supposed not-for-profit - have access to tickets at the low, low price of $85. And as they have sold out an entire four month run, there isn't a whole lot to stop other Off-Broadway producers from attempting to charge the same thing.

To be fair, the Public is offering a daily "Hamilton for a Hamilton" lottery, with a whopping two whole seats per performance available for $10 each. And there is supposedly a $20 ticket lottery in the theatre's lobby prior to each performance "subject to availability," which in this case probably means "if anyone cancels." This to me does not sound like a company that is trying to make theatre accessible to the masses.

Now, obviously there are a lot of production costs involved with mounting a brand new musical, especially one with a large cast like Hamilton. Furthermore, I know that the Public has a whole season to finance, and many of their shows lack the sort of commercial appeal of Miranda's hip-hop historical opus. I'm sure a portion of the profits from Hamilton will go towards funding some of the Public's more obscure works, not to mention their hugely popular and much appreciated Shakespeare in the Park series (which remains free to anyone with the time and patience to wait in the legendarily long ticket line). And obviously they aren't charging more than the market can bear since, as previously mentioned, the show is legitimately sold out.

But I still find it sad and more than a little upsetting that Off-Broadway, and specifically not-for-profit Off-Broadway, has gotten so ridiculously expensive. What used to be known as a low cost alternative to the ever-more-expensive Broadway now routinely costs upwards of $100 for high profile shows, a price point most people can't afford more than once or twice a year if that. It's hard to totally blame the Public for charging what they're charging (obviously many people are happy to pay $120 a head), but at the same time it would be nice if a greater number of seats were set aside at a more affordable level for the vast number of people who don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on an evening's entertainment. Hamilton has a gloriously multicultural cast and a musical style that could attract vast segments of the population who don't normally see theatre, but for a multitude of reasons way too complex to address in this blog many of the people who look like the cast of Hamilton couldn't even begin to afford a ticket.

The New York theatre scene is currently in the midst of a vicious, self-destructive cycle that will take some drastic measures to change, and Hamilton is just the latest example. High ticket prices keep all but a narrow segment of the population from being able to see theatre, a segment that if we're being honest is getting older and dying out without a new generation of patrons to replace them. These high prices put pressure on producers to give audiences their money's worth in the form of needless spectacle and too many works that pander to the lowest common denominator. After all, if shows cost millions of dollars to mount, producers are understandably reluctant to tackle projects without a decent chance of financial success, which generally rules out more adventurous works and less established creative voices. Because the industry is notoriously tight lipped about each show's actual costs, it's difficult to know where cuts and changes can be made, but someone needs to tackle this problem before live theatre becomes just a diversion for the wealthy that has little cultural impact or significance to the general population. If a major non-profit with a stated focus on accessibility like the Public isn't willing/able to lower prices, then it may already be too late.

Everything is Bigger (and Better) in Texas

Review:  Giant

Giant stars Brian D'Arcy James and Kate Baldwin share an intimate moment.

 

Giant, the latest work by the prolific if not quite mainstream composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa, is by no means a perfect musical.  It struggles against the weight of its own ambition and the confines of the Public’s Newman Theatre, and yet remains thoroughly engaging for the majority of its three hour runtime.  Giant is theatrical proof of the old adage that those who shoot for the moon and miss still land among the stars, and for all of its flaws this fascinating show demands to be seen by any fan of serious musical theatre.

Based on the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber, Giant chronicles three decades of life on a sprawling Texas cattle ranch called Reata.  Jordan “Bick” Benedict is the proud owner of this enormous swath of land, and Giant begins with his whirlwind courtship and marriage to wealthy Virginian socialite Leslie Lynnton.  A stranger in a strange land, Leslie struggles to come to terms with her new surroundings and the husband she hardly knows, while Bick fights to prevent former ranch hand Jett Rink and his government backers from drilling for oil on the previously unspoiled land. 

Like any good epic, Giant features a host of interrelated subplots vying for the audience’s attention, and it must be noted that LaChiusa and librettist Sybille Pearson haven’t quite found the proper balance among the various storylines.  Certain characters and incidents seem superfluous when viewed in the context of the larger narrative, while other elements feel underdeveloped or completely forgotten.  While it’s difficult to pinpoint any one portion of the show in need of major rewrites, a series of minor edits and subtle tweaks in focus would result in a more cohesive and integrated whole.  Everything in this current incarnation is exceedingly well done, but it doesn’t always feel necessary, and as a result interest starts to flag over the course of the musical’s long length.

Thankfully, Michael John LaChiusa’s score is nothing short of brilliant. Rapturous, lush, and gloriously sung, LaChiusa’s sweeping melodies are the product of a master working at the height of his artistic prowess.  LaChiusa manages the difficult trick of writing songs that feel familiar but also unexpected, traveling through a host of musical genres while maintaining a tonal cohesion that keeps the entire score sounding like the a unified vision.  One song segues beautifully into the next, and when you least expect it LaChiusa seamlessly incorporates a recurrent motif without resorting to full-fledged reprises.  The music soars, with lyrics that are at once conversational and poetic, and it is almost impossible not to be swept away by the grandeur of it all.

While LaChiusa’s score is the show’s unabashed highlight, the musical’s large cast proves equally masterful.  Anchoring the show with the greatest performance of his career, Brian D’Arcy James plays family patriarch Bick with the best possible mixture of bravado and sensitivity.  He radiates love for both the land and his family, even if his rough and tumble upbringing doesn’t always allow him to express it fully.  James’ buoyant physicality and expressive face communicate volumes without speaking, and his nuanced delivery of the show’s many soaring anthems establishes such a strong connection with the audience that his presence is felt even when he isn’t onstage.

The ever-radiant Kate Baldwin similarly astonishes as Leslie, displaying an even greater amount of the star quality that netted her a Tony nomination in the recent revival of Finian’s Rainbow.  Her Leslie is a complicated creature torn between her love of Bick (and later, their children) and her dissatisfaction with the life and social mores of rural Texas.  Yet Baldwin never allows Leslie to wallow in self-pity, displaying the quiet strength and steely determination we’ve come to associate with the great Southern women of American literature.  She also sings like a dream, navigating the tricky demands of LaChiusa’s score with the assured ease of a master vocalist.

PJ Griffith does excellent work as the musical’s pseudo-antagonist Jett, embodying the Good Old Boy archetype with sincerity and style.  It’s unfortunate the show doesn’t quite know what to do with him, as Jett never really feels connected to the other characters or to the story in general despite amble stage time.  Bobby Steggert and Mackenzie Mauzy are quite charming as Bick and Leslie’s children, although again the show doesn’t make full use of the characters’ potential.  Katie Thompson’s Vashti Hake Snythe has an even more tangential relation to the plot, but the commanding actress emerges as one of the evening’s highlights thanks to several outstanding solos.  The only person resembling a weak link is Michelle Pawk as Bick’s elder sister Luz Benedict, but after struggling with her first solo the actress recovers nicely.

Director Michael Greif and set designer Allen Moyer have done an excellent job squeezing this sprawling show into the relatively modest confines of the Newman Theatre, although their inventiveness only goes so far.  Creating a second level onstage to house the orchestra is a clever idea, although Greif’s insistence on placing some of his actors up there muddies the effect by bringing more focus to the already prominent musicians.  Moyer’s attempts at sweeping Texas vistas don’t quite read as such given the shallow stage, although the excellent lighting by Kenneth Posner goes a long way toward helping evoke the open sky.  Overall, the show looks lovely, even if the self-editing necessitated by the theatre’s size constraints is a little too apparent.

Giant is easily the most ambitious new musical of the season, and for that it must be commended.  Ferber’s novel was clearly a tough nut to crack, and the fact that the show does so much so well is a testament to the skill of all involved.  A top-notch cast and stunning score by LaChiusa make this an extremely rewarding show for theatre aficionados, and anyone with the slightest interest in Giant should make a point to see it before it closes this weekend.  Hopefully some adventurous producer will pick up the show for a Broadway transfer, as a larger theatre and one final round of revisions would make this one of the truly great musicals of the past 15 years.  But even in its current incarnation, this is a show that demands to be seen, and a shining example of the artistic heights the modern musical can achieve.