From: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Subject: MY FAVORITE YEAR
Reply-To: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:46:08 GMT

This weekend I saw the new musical MY FAVORITE YEAR at Lincoln
Center's Vivian Beaumont theater.  Since it is still in previews, it
isn't really fair to review it -- but it's not like I'm writing for
the Times or anything.  Don't think of this as a review; just a report
by a friend on what he did this weekend.

MFY is, of course, based on the movie starring Peter O'Toole, and
Joseph Dougherty's book closely follows the movie's screenplay, by
Norman Steinberg & Dennis Palumbo (as far as I can remember it; it's
been some time since I've seen the movie).  The story is told by Benjy
Stone, who, during 1954 (his favorite year), was the newest writer for
the King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade, a live television variety show
similar to Sid Caeser's Your Show of Shows.  The guest on this week's
show is Alan Swann, Benjy's hero, an over-the-hill movie actor who
starred in scores of swashbucklers (can you say Errol Flynn?).  During
the course of the week Benjy learns something about life, love, heros,
and family.  It is a light comedy with occasional darker undertones.

The songs are written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who also
wrote the wonderful ONCE ON THIS ISLAND.  They have written several
good songs for the show, including the tone-setting opening number,
"Twenty Million People," sung by the panicked company as they prepare
to go live in front of twenty million people across the country.  The
score is quite a contrast with THE SECRET GARDEN, fresh in my mind as
a comparison because I saw it again last week.  There is a dark,
almost obsessive quality to the songs in GARDEN, and they often make
use of multiple voices, duets and quartets.  The songs in MFY are much
lighter, and are pretty much all written for a single voice (sometimes
with an accompanying chorus).  Even when touching on more emotional
subjects (one theme of the show is how Benjy compensated for
abandonment by his father through lossing himself in the movies, with
Alan Swann as a substitute father figure), the songs never pack much
of an emotional punch -- which may be appropriate, given the lightness
of the book.

The performances are generally excellent, especially Evan Pappas as
Benjy (he was Marvin in the Hartford Stage production of FALSETTOS).
He has to carry a lot of the show, and does it well.  Andrea Martin
stands out Alice Miller, one of Benjy's fellow writers, and Lannyl
Stephens is fine as K.C. Dowining, the ingenue and Benjy's love
interest.  Lainie Kazan plays Benjy's mother, the role she originated
in the movie, and does a great job.

At the heart of the show, and its one, major weakness, is Tim Curry's
Alan Swann.  Now, I like Tim Curry a lot; he was wonderful in the
touring of ME AND MY GIRL.  But he doesn't begin to approach the
presence O'Toole brought to the movie.  The role demands a star, and
it's too easy to take your eyes off of Curry.  In addition, he looks
far too healthy for the dissipted Swann.  I sympathize with the
producers; I know they had a real problem filling the role, and I
haven't been able to think of anyone I think could do a better job
than Curry (any suggestions?).  But this hole in the center may stop
MFY from being a hit.

The sets were quite nice, and the direction may have been fine.  I
couldn't tell.  The Vivian Beaumont has a thrust stage, and my seat
was way at one end.  The acting was entirely to the front, ignoring
the sides, so I didn't have a very good view.  This staging will make
it easy to transfer the show to another theatre if it is a hit, but
for now it's damned annoying for about a third of the audience.  Best
available seat, my eye.

In short, I recommend the show (if you can sit in the middle) without
absolutely raving about it.  It should be even better by the time it
opens, but it will still have a weakness at the center.  Too bad they
couldn't get Peter O'Toole to play the role (I wonder if he can sing).

(I saw the new movie ALADDIN the same day, and where ALADDIN has
orchestrations mainly by Danny Troob, with a little done by Michael
Starobin; MFY has orchestrations by Michael Starobin, with a bit done
by Danny Troob.  It's a small world.)

David Fristrom		|
Interleaf, Inc.		|	"Have some of column 'A'
davidf@ileaf.com	|	 Try all of column 'B'"
Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre