THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ashman & Menken’s GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER via Encores! Off-Center is an uneven curiosity but an imminent charmer

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Santino Fontana and the company of Encores! Off-Center revival of “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater”

Last night, courtesy of Encores! excellent Off-Center programming, I caught a delightful revival of the late, great Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The little-known musical, an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel of the same name, marked the first collaboration between Ashman and Menken, which would later yield such indestructible classics as Little Shop of Horrors and the Disney animated features The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin (all three eventually made the successful transitions to the Broadway stage).

The musical adaptation of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is a curiosity along the lines of Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle, both in terms of their audacity to tackle big questions – both deal with the nature of sanity and our moral responsibility to help out others – as well as their unevenness. The musical tells the tale of Eliot Rosewater, a one percenter of questionable mental well-being who pours his family’s financial resources into improving the lives of the downtrodden citizens of a dilapidated Indiana town. Along the way, he faces resistance from his Senator father, his flustered wife, and a money-obsessed lawyer. Despite the show’s ambition, both Menken’s music, tuneful and charming as it may be, and Ashman’s book and lyrics suffer from tone problems and feel like a first draft of something potentially greater. As it is, the show is imperfect but imminently lovable.

The Encores! Off-Center production is directed with spunk and personality by Michael Mayer. The cast that he’s assembled is often inspired. As Eliot, the dashing Santino Fontana proves once again that he’s one of our very finest leading men of the theater. His disarming performance walks the fine line between hero and vacancy, and it’s fascinating to behold. As the conniving lawyer, the handsome Skylar Astin exudes enough charisma to make you forget the character’s sliminess. The fine cast is rounded out by the excellent and sweet-voiced Brynn O’Malley as Eliot’s long-suffering wife and Clark Johnson, who does solid work as Eliot’s father. The cameo appearance by none other than James Earl Jones at the show’s conclusion had the audience giddy with delight.

RECOMMENDED

 

GOD BLESS YOU, MR ROSEWATER
Off-Broadway, Musical
Encores! Off-Center at New York City Center
2 hours (with one intermission)
Through July 30

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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