According to
the program, "Great Expectations," the new musical
based on Dickens' classic about Pip, the orphan whose life
is transformed by a mysterious benefactor, is a "developmental" production.
The adaptation, though excellent, may still need a tweak or
two, but there's nothing developmental about Jules Aaron's
beautifully burnished staging -- a crowning achievement for
this veteran director. In fact, as you watch Dickens' beloved
story unfold at the Hudson Backstage theater, you may get the
sense that you are in on the ground floor of an important new
work.
"Expectations" is based on the original adaptation
by Margaret Hoorneman, a 94-year-old retired Iowa schoolteacher
who taught the novel for many decades. Impressed with Hoorneman's
draft, her grandson Brian VanDerWilt and his writing partner
Steve Lozier teamed with composer Richard Winzeler and lyricist
Steve Lane to augment the original. The result, under the guidance
of Aaron, abetted by Winzeler, the inspired musical director
who also leads the dynamic live band, is, with few exceptions,
magnificent.
This monumental effort is -- what else? --
Dickensian in scope, with so many exceptional elements that
it's difficult to single out just a few. Set and lighting designer
Adam Blumenthal gets high marks for his evocatively bleak set.
Shon LeBlanc's costumes are also first-rate, although Estella
(lovely, rich-voiced Shannon Warne) needs a petticoat under
her see-through skirt.
As Pip, Adam Simmons is both stalwart protagonist and straight
man for the extravagantly colorful characters that revolve
around him. From the exceptional child performers to the more
seasoned stage vets, this is a dream cast that attacks Dickens'
sprawling saga with vigor and authority. Towering above them
all is Ellen Crawford's Miss Havisham, a lambent portrayal
that ranges from spite to anguished repentance.
It's rather sad that there are scant opportunities to hear
the full chorus, which raises the roof in the rousing first
act title number. Also, the piece cries out for a full-bodied,
full-chorus denouement, rather than its current small-scale
ending. A boffo curtain number would be a fitting punctuation
point to this grippingly well-told tale. |
