Getting Away in Previews
As the voters of New Hampshire were going to the polls to cast their
ballot in the presidential primary on Tuesday, February 20, theater fans were
lining up to cast their votes for Getting Away With Murder, Stephen Sondheim &
George Furth's new comedy thriller at the Broadhurst Theater in New York.
It was indeed a dark and stormy night outside which drove the audience
into the theater early in order to avoid the rain and fog. But inside the
weather was not much different as the curtain rose on Douglas W. Schmidt's set
surrounded by rain, clouds, thunder and lightning. And don't forget the
gargoyle!
The cast of characters presented by Sondheim and Furth are more diverse
than those on the New Hampshire ballot. Sondheim's love of puzzles and his gift
as a playwright combine to bring together a group of men and women for an
evening of psychotherapy, or is it murder? And certainly the fact that these two
men have worked together before must have made for an interesting dynamic as the
script developed. Doesn't a show like this deserve a video or book entitled "The
Making of GAWM"?!
Lest this article become a review, which would not be fair to a work in
previews, let it suffice to say that Sondheim and Furth set their mystery on the
top floor of a dilapidated building in New York City where we see how the lives
of the characters connect. The suspects consist of a politician (John
Rubinstein), a restaurant hostess (Christine Ebersole), a young man (William
Ragsdale), his temporary companion (Michelle Hurd), a socialite (Kandis
Chappell), a Greek immigrant (Josh Mostel), a real estate investor (Terrence
Mann), a police officer (Frankie R. Faison), an educator (Jodi Long), a security
guard (Al Espinosa) and the doctor (Herb Foster).
Gradually the plot reveals the characters' weaknesses and eventually we
are even given a corpse or two. The story revolves around a group therapy
session where they discover a murder and decide that the best way to avoid
publicity is to solve the murder themselves before calling the police. The use
of the old building on a stormy October night offers all sorts of possibilities
for thunder and lightning, blackouts, back hallways and even broken elevators.
At the same time we are presented with a doctor's office full of modern
inventions which play key roles in the story such as an answering machine, a
computer (but not a Mac like Mr. Sondheim uses), computer passwords and a
cordless telephone. Throw in some references to New York City politics, taxies,
Central Park, cocaine and Zabar's and you have a 1990's NYC murder mystery. And
who else but Mr. Sondheim would think of using the word "tchotkes" in a comedy
thriller?
Sondheim has long been fascinated by puzzles and is noted for his
perceptive insight into characters so a piece like GAWM offers him a chance to
combine both. Surely his fans will cry for music, but he does have a way with
words as well and it is rare that he gives us words without music. Give him a
chance.
Will he abandon the musical to write plays without music? Perish the
thought, GAWM was a diversion which turned into a full-scale production. But at
the same time GAWM is a play which will attract not only the Sondheim fans but
also those who enjoy a good mystery. And Broadway could use that these days.
Will GAWM succeed? It is too early to tell. Did the audience enjoy the
show? Certainly. And the audience was not entirely composed of Sondheim fans.
There were many in the audience who seemed to have been there because they were
looking for a murder mystery, a species which has been in low supply on Broadway
these days. And others were there because, surprisingly, there were actually
tickets available at the TKTS booth earlier in the evening.
As Sondheim and Furth fine tune the show during previews there is no
doubt that there will be much talk about whether they actually "got away with
it".
|