Turn of the Century live performance at the Goodman Theatre

The last live musical performance I saw at the Goodman Theatre was Ain't Misbehavin', which I very much liked, so I was looking forward to a new musical play from the Goodman, featuring selections from the Great American Songbook in a production directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune, starring Broadway veteran Rachel York and film good-guy Jeff Daniels. But Turn of the Century was a disappointment from beginning to end when I saw it over the weekend.

This is basically a show that gets in the way of a lot of good music. The show tells the story of a pianist and a singer who get sent back one hundred years and make a name for themselves by "writing" many of the song standards that have yet to be written. We hear many of the most recognizable songs of the last one hundred years, usually in snippets.

Rather than a love story for the ages, this is a love story that takes ages. As my theater-going companion pointed out, there is no chemistry between Mr. Daniels and Ms. York, and while the later sings admirably in the several full songs she is given, often-times the over-blown arrangements get in the way. Mr. Daniels displays little of the charm that is his trademark on film. And while he is often very animated (particularly while miming playing the piano), he seems to just be being himself most of the time, which doesn't really reach very strongly across the footlights.

Joining these two on stage is an ensemble of 16 Chicago-based actors who back-up the two leads, but are given very little time in the spotlight themselves. One of the few times an ensemble member steps front and center is when Kevin Gudahl, as Harry Van Deusen the leading songwriter of 1900, sings one of the few original songs in the score--about Mr. Daniels getting his comeuppance and being outed as a fraud. Mr. Gudahl is an accomplished Chicago actor whom I have seen in mostly classical plays at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He can really sell it when called for--something Mr. Daniels should learn.

With the star-studded cast (well at least studded with two), a brand-name director, and a book by Brickman and Elice (of Jersey Boys fame), I'm sure this was pegged to transfer to Broadway following this try-out in Chicago. Dare I say without a much better book, better musical arrangements, and perhaps even a new lead to two, I think this show will not see the light of day after is goes dark in Chicago.

Turn of the Century

Music by everyone from Irving Berlin to Barry Manilow
Lyrics by the same
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Directed by Tommy Tune
Presented at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago through November 2
Cast: Jeff Daniels, Rachel York, Ron Orbach, Rachel de Benedet, Kevin Gudahl, Rebecca Finnegan, Johah Rawitz

Ain't Misbehaving Live Performance

This is the second "jukebox" musical in my Year so far, and this one is far superior in my opinion to the previous one. Although perhaps this one should rightly be called a "jukejoint" musical.

A cast of five and a band of eight took the stage at the Goodman Theatre for today's matinee of Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show. I had heard bits of Waller's music before and recognized several of the song titles, but didn't know much about the man or his music. Fortunately, both his story and his music are interesting--varied in style, and well arranged in this revue that was created in 1978.

Here was what I was missing in Smokey Joe's Cafe: a good variety of songs and performance styles in musical arrangements that offered everything from intimate accompaniment to "blow the roof off" numbers. As staged in this production by Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Chuck Smith, the show uses the stage well. And there was a set and costumes that said something about the era of this music. All things that Smokey didn't have.

The standout in the cast has to be E. Faye Butler (pictured) . Ms. Butler is a singer and actress of accomplishment in Chicago, and that experience shone in her performance. The other four performers were each good in their way and made the most of their moment in the spotlight. I may be turning into my father, but I did have a lot of trouble understanding a lot of the lyrics, and most of the jokes were lost on me because I couldn't understand the words. But the music shone through and the incredibly racially diverse audience ate it up--myself included.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show
Music by Thomas "Fats" Waller and others
Lyrics by Andy Razaf, Richard Maltby, Jr., Billy Rose and a whole bunch of others
Show conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz
Live Performance at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago
Directed by Chuck Smith
Cast: E. Faye Butler, Parrish Collier, John Steven Crowley, Lina Kernan, Alexis Rogers