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Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Tulipomania: The Musical
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Nothing to lose. Nothing at stake.
—Waiter
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Jeff Coon as Owner
(Photo credit: Mark Garvin) |
On the Arden mainstage in front of an atmospheric backdrop of a grey town with very authentic rain, a delightful and colorful little shop oozes quaint, nostalgic charm. Attractive lighting emanates from several practical sources on the set and from stage lighting in the house, including dim fabric-draped lights that carry through the design scheme. In a neat opener before the show really begins, the owner of the little hash bar in Amsterdam sets up his wares as musicians gradually drift in and go upstairs, where they later can be seen playing.
Owner (Jeffrey Coon) and his slinky waiter (Billy Bustamante) run the place. We know zip about them. And we learn next to nothing about the four characters who drop in for a doobie. The proprietor relates a good story, the sad cautionary tale of a speculator in 17th century Holland who risks everything in the original financial bubble, the Tulip Mania. The man buys shares at auction that are written on parchment, and obsesses over acquiring a rare tulip. We are left to conjecture later about why telling this story is important to the shop owner, and whether he knows something.
Tulipomania takes ages to heat up while strangers sing very nicely about tulips and nothing seems to be happening. By the time the music takes on a compelling rhythm and the story starts to cook —-eventually pricking the conscience of a customer — it’s too late to spark audience interest.
The Michael Ogborn charm comes though in his delightful musical composition more than in his book. (Except that not all the music seems to belong, like "In Praise of Tulipan," a Spiritual that comes across as unrelated to the other songs.) Yet all the music is imaginative and beautiful with gorgeous underlying harmonies. Ogborn’s lively lyrics, mostly wonderful, at times show a wooden-shoe-horned cutesy side.
The little orchestra that could, led by Dan Kazemi, does an admirable job with six musicians on cello, bass, guitar, electric guitars, keyboard, trumpet, flute, clarinet, saxophone and probably more instruments. Vocally, Jeffrey Coon’s rich tenor grounds the musical; Joilet F. Harris, as Woman, performs a stunning solo; and Adam Heller, as Man, does some snazzy singing as well.
Otherwise almost nothing happens physically on stage for about an hour as the audience patiently awaits more elucidation on what is going on. The characters all arrive and stay, with no separate scenes. There’s nothing to occupy the regulars and tourists in the shop when they’re not jobbed in to the Owner’s storytelling project. Any dimensions of their lives remain extremely sketchy as they take their turns singing and acting the story from the past. There’s a whole lot of inaction: Taking the occasional toke, they sit around and listen. The burden of action falls primarily on the waiter who must do his best with surface business that doesn’t hook into the meaning that’s taking too long to show its hand.
When these unknown customers participate in the story being told, they — like us — are hearing it for the first time. As characters once-removed from the 17th century people they’re pitching in to portray, they appear to have no stake in what’s transpiring. Painter (Ben Dibble) and Young Woman (Alex Keiper), for example, two strangers playing olden day lovers, sing a lovely song, "Beauty", together. But because they’re distanced from their roles, the song doesn’t elicit audience response as it would have, had they been revealing secrets about their ‘real’ lives. The whole thing picks up when we see how the story from olden times begins to interact with the blameworthy contemporary customer’s life. But precisely what that person has done remains fuzzy, and seems to mix a modern financial bubble with perhaps Madoff-style wealth management.
Very smart and savvy theater people have put this production together. It boasts great music, a knowledgeable and experienced director, first-rate singers, and an A-list design team. The only thing I can suppose is that in the several years the show has been worked on since its commission, it has been through so many permutations that the dots got disconnected. It is dearly to be hoped that this musical will be taken in hand and readjusted one more time.
As the 17th Century story ekes out, slowly building to its climax, not enough is known to make people care about the contemporary participants, and not enough about anything is disclosed fast enough to provide needed action and to generate keen interest. Despite noteworthy singing and acting, and an audience-pleasing jazzy "Tulipofinale" fronted by fluid Billy Bustamante, the show remains a high concept piece that’s slow on the ground.
A direct funding appeal made during the final bow, something that has been trending recently in theaters, seems inappropriate.
Tulipomania: The Musical was produced under the auspices of the Arden’s Independence Foundation New Play Showcase and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Tulipomania: The Musical
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Michael Ogborn Directed by Terrence J. Nolen Cast: Billy Bustamante, Jeff Coon, Ben Dibble, Joilet F. Harris, Adam Heller, Alex Keiper Scenic Design: James Kronzer Lighting Design: John Stephen Hoey Costume Design: Rosemarie E. McKelvey Sound Design: Jorge Cousineau Music Director and Orchestrator: Dan Kazemi Musicians: Dan Kazemi, Brian Adamczyk, Nero Catalano, Bob Wagner, Steve Duckworth, Andrew Nelson May 24- July 1, 2012 95 minutes Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund based on 05/31 performance. Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd |
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Musical Numbers
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