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A CurtainUp Review
Red Eye of Love
By Elyse Sommer
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"Does your heart go bump At the sight of rump Best buy O.O. — "Good Old O.O." This is the opening ode to meat department store's illiterate tycoon, O. O. Martinas, by a chorus of salesgirls and salesmen in the "new" musical Red Eye Of Love. "If ever a musical could be said to be passionately absurd, romantically surreal, and quintessentially American, all at the same time, it's Red Eye of Love. This is primal, comic tug-of-war between the '1%' and everyone else that tells a 'tale of two cities' that couldn't be more perfectly timed or better humored." Donna Trinkoff, the Artistic Producer of Amas Musical Theatre which is mounting the show for a brief run at the DiCapo Theatre. |
Alli Mauzey and Josh Grisetti (Photo: Carol Rosegg )
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Red Eye Of Love, the musical adaptation of Arnold Weinstein's 1961 absurdist comedy, has also had a long and troubled journey to a New York production. Though it's finally made it, this is much more modest and less likely to cause a big rush of enthusiasm. Instead of being staged with a big budget and and at a high profile venue, this Red Eye of Love is playing for a limited run at the intimate DiCapo Theatre on Manhattan's upper East Side under the auspices of Amas Musical Theatre a laboratory for new musicals. The band consists of two grand pianos. A versatile, ensemble plays all the characters besides the trio at the heart of the plot's purposefully ridiculous love triangle.
What's new about this Red Eye. . . is a lot more drastic than Mr. Doyle's paring down of The Visit into a one-act opera. John Wulp, the late Mr. Weinstein's co-librettist and lyricist, has divorced the book from the score by Jan Warner. While I'm not familiar with Warner's music, it was apparently too complex and operatic to transform the play into the show that Mr. Wulp envisioned as a throwback to the post-vaudeville escapist song and dance shows that nevertheless managed to tap into provocative social issues.
While some Amas sponsored musicals have enjoyed long lives, Red Eye . . . is likely to appeal mostly to those who have followed and championed it from its beginnings as a straight play and hoped w for it to sing and dance its way to a New York stage. If the catchy ads that include the turnstiles at the Lexington and 77th Street subway station have piqued your interest, here's my good news/bad news take on the production.
To begin with what could be termed as good news. . .
There's nothing operatic about the songs by new songsmith Sam Davis. If you include reprises there are twenty-one songs. And while Davis still has to contend with some painfully unfunny lyrics, Davis's tunese certainly more suitable to this material than the original composer's.
One of the main reasons for me to look forward to see the show was that Josh Grisetti plays one of the three main characters. Grisetti is a delightful modern day version of popular song and dance man Ray Bolger who's best known as the Wizard of Oz's Woodman. He first charmed me with his perfect comic timing, relaxed singing and and dancing in the York Theater Company's revival of Enter Laughing . That first impression was confirmed every time I've seen him since then and he brings his usual Ray Bolger-ish awkard charm to Red Eye of Love's Wilmer Flange. As that young idealist he wins, loses and wins (well, sort of) the dancer Selma Chargesse (the also appealing Alli Mauzey) from the older, illiterate and wildly successful founder of a department store selling nothing but meat. O. O. Martinas (a less ideally cast Kevin Pariseau).
Though artist Robert Indiana's scenery is sparse, consisting largely of a backdrop evoking his famous LOVE sculpture, David Wilson's projection design does animate it a bit. And, while a small combo would be preferable to that 2-piano band, the pianists play well and never drown out the singing. What's lacking in stage bells and whistles, is offset by the abundant choreography of Laine Sakakura and Alex Sanchez and Martha Bromelmeier's varied and at times amusing costumes.
And here comes the bad news. . .
My good news scenario already points to problems. But the really fatal flaw is that the book as well as the music would have benefited from a make-over. What was once unique about the play's ability to entertain while commenting on greed versus education, the cultural illusions propagated by the movies and the painful experiences of Depressions and wars, has lost its sharp edge. The wisecracking lyrics and comic dances are now less a case of absurdist wit than just plain silliness — especially given the lengthy lyrics about the joys of "fondling fillets" and having one's "heart go bump at the sight of rump."
I like a good hamburger as well as any carnivore. But this production's best moments involve the more moving less jokey second act number in which the Depression impoverished chorus sings "What Happened?" along with an evocatively lit and moody war scene. Unfortunately, the usually able director Ted Sperling has allowed the "meaty" humor" to dominate and so the "new" Red Eye of Love hasn't transformed Weinstein and Wulp's woe-beset musical into a big Wow.
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Red Eye of Love Book & Lyrics by Arnold Weinstein & John Wulp Based on an 1961 play by Arnold Weinstein Music By Sam Davis Directed by Ted Sperling Cast: Josh Grisetti (Wilmer Flange), Alli Mauzey (Selma Chargesse), Kevin Pariseau (O.O. Martinas); Dylan Boyd (Bez), Katie Chung (Ensemble),Daniel Lynn Evans (Grown-Up Bez, Ensemble), Tracie Franklin (Nightclub singer, Ensemble), Katie Hagenand (Waitress, Ensemble), Daniel May (Japanese Soldier, Ensemble), Sam Tanabe (Doll Vendor (Ensemble) Scenic design by Robert Indiana Costume design: Martha Bromelmeier Lighting design: Matthew Richards Projection design: David Wilson Sound Design: Ray Schilke Producion Supervisor: Henry Millman Band: Greg Jarret (Music Director & pianist), Roberto Sinha (Pianist) Stage Manager: J. P. Elins Running Time: 2 hours, includes 1 intermission Amas Musical Theatre at Dicapo Opera Theatre 184 East 76th Street At Lexington Avenue(212) 868-4444 From 8/27/14; openign 9/04/14; closing 9/28/14 Wednesday at 3pm & 8pm, Thursday & Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm & 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $25 to $55 Reviewed by Elyse Sommer at 8/31/14 press matinee |
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Musical Numbers
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Act One
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Act Two
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