Recently I attended previews for two musicals in New York, enjoyed both, and appreciated the chance to see two such vastly different productions. One was an intimate chamber piece from Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow, Whisper House, performed by the Civilians at the 59E59 Theaters off-Broadway. The other was the huge, splashy revival of The Music Man, quite literally on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater. Interestingly enough, the revival of the old standard seemed fresher than the brand spanking new chamber musical.
Whisper House felt like a revival of an older play from the late 1940’s or 50’s. During World War II a boy must live with his prickly, unmarried aunt at a remote lighthouse in Maine after his father dies in combat and his mother requires hospitalization. The aunt employs a Japanese man as her helper, and the local sheriff is determined to comply with recent laws requiring the internment of Japanese citizens. The “whispering” of the title comes from a couple of malevolent ghosts, whose fate, we learn, is related to the lives of the aunt and the boy’s late father. It’s a melodrama with flawless performances from the cast, an effectively evocative set, and—for me, anyway—a satisfying experience of returning to live theater. But as I said to one of my companions, the material was awfully familiar, and the lyrics sounded very much pre-Sondheim: predictable, plodding, and too frequently banal.
Down the street The Music Man also offered some notable lyrics, particularly those that have been tweaked from the originals. Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman wrote new words for “Shipoopi,” and insiders claim that Sutton Foster’s improved “My White Knight” comes out of interpolations originally added by Barbara Cook. Whatever the source, the new “My White Knight” pushes the show along nicely when in the past it brought the action to a dull pause. Hugh Jackman headlines as Harold Hill, and he really is the greatest showman, rarely offstage and always at high energy. But Sutton Foster unsurprisingly proves to be Jackman’s equal as Marian, and the dazzling supporting cast—Jane Houdyshell, Jefferson Mays, Shuler Hensley, and legions of talented singers and dancers—provides continuous delight. The boy playing Winthrop, Benjamin Pajak, is a star on the rise. (Keep this kid healthy, folks. He could be the next Tom Holland.) I attended with the four women who played the “Pick a Little” ladies in the Woodberry Forest School production of the show in 2020, and we were surrounded by others who had some connection with The Music Man. Jerry Zaks, the 75-year-old director, did more than simply dust off a museum piece for the tourist crowd. This production reconsiders every syllable, every note, every dance break, and makes all of them new.
In the end what struck me about both productions was the sustained generosity of everyone involved. With the temperature officially at 18 degrees but with wind chills driving it down to zero, a devoted staff member stood outside the 59E59 Theater to check our vaccination status and our i.d.’s. Ushers gave N95 masks to audience members on the front row. We had the same scrupulous screening before we could enter the Winter Garden. Everyone in both audiences wore masks throughout the shows. And the casts worked their hardest to reward our attendance. Despite having just come off covid infections, both Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman delivered unrestrained star turns at our matinee and then came back that evening to do the same for another audience. And what did the audience give back? Lively entrance applause, audible signals of delight throughout the action, and roars of approval during a long standing ovation. For too few delirious moments there, I was part of a group that was unanimously, unabashedly happy.