Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Sometimes less is more: Semi-staged presentations of Jeanine Tesori’s BLUE and Marvin Hamlisch’s SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS hit the mark

• By drediman
• December 4, 2025
• No Comments

In recent weeks, I attended semi-staged presentations of Jeanine Tesori’s 2019 opera Blue and Marvin Hamlisch’s underrated 2002 musical adaptation of Sweet Smell of Success. With the focus squarely on sublime music-making, these potent minimalist stagings proved that sometimes less is indeed more. As per usual, read on for my thoughts on these two all-too-brief stints.

BLUE
Lincoln Center Presents / The Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater
David Geffen Hall

To celebrate Jeanine Tesori as this year’s Lincoln Center Visionary Artist, the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center Theater, and of course Lincoln Center teamed up to co-present a tremendously powerful one-night-only performance of Jeanine Tesori’s opera Blue (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at David Geffen Hall. Even more so than the composer’s other foray into grand opera — that would be her somewhat misguided operatic adaptation of George Brant’s 2013 play Grounded, which was seen at the Met last season — Blue exemplifies Tesori’s natural knack for melody and organically interweaving musical threads to convey drama. Known mostly for her body of work in musical theater (Violet, Fun Home, and Caroline, or Change, to name a few), it’s quite astonishing how easily she’s adapted her considerable talents to operatic writing. Blue‘s elegantly succinct yet emotionally wrought libretto is by Tazewell Thompson, whose seamless collaboration with Tesori has yielded a sensitive and clear-eyed investigation of identity, race, and police brutality that grounds the opera in truth, honesty, and at times, disarming tenderness. Set in Harlem, the piece depicts the internal strife of a Black family, particularly between its patriarch (who happen to be a dedicated police officer) and his idealistic son (who spends much of his time and energy protesting racial and economic injustices). When the latter is horrifically shot and killed by the NYPD, the opera lets forth a heartbreaking lament of immense grief and stunning force, only to conclude on a subdued note of love and unsettled ambiguity. As directed by Thompson — who also directed the world premiere production at Glimmerglass Festival in 2019 — this iteration of the opera was staged in a minimalist fashion to fit within the specifications of a concert hall. This may have been a blessing in disguise. By solely letting the music evoke the drama of the tragic story — I applaud the use of amplification to give the audience a sonically democratic experience, no matter where in the auditorium they were seated — attending the opera seemed akin to going to a religious service. Indeed, as majestically conducted by Joseph Young and passionately performed by a cast culled from both the worlds of theater and opera, Blue delivered profoundly on a spiritual level. Although the Met would be foolish not to pick up the work for a full production, a part of me feels that this semi-staged presentation was a definitive statement.

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
MasterVoices
Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Then over at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, there was MasterVoice’s fall offering, a rare revival of Sweet Smell of Success (RECOMMENDED), the musical adaptation of the 1957 film of the same name featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Craig Carnelia, and a book by playwright John Guare. Like the movie, the musical takes a look at the underbelly of mid-century New York through the lens of the morally corrupt journalism industry, in the process shedding light on the steep price of ambition and success. For this semi-staged production, MasterVoices artistic director Ted Sperling and a number of the musical’s original creative team have spent effort righting some of the flaws of the original iteration of the show — which played on Broadway for a brief run in 2002 — most notably the show’s opening and ending. Hamlisch’s rich, jazzy score is one of his best efforts for musical theater, simultaneously evoking atmospheric noir and that distinctively brassy Broadway sound. As typical of MasterVoices presentations, this Sweet Smell of Success sounded downright operatic under William David Brohn’s magnificent original orchestrations, which were beautifully complimented by Sperling’s full-bodied vocal arrangements. The production was led by the ever-invigorating and perfectly cast Esparza, who imbued the central character of powerful news mogul JJ Hunsecke with both immense charisma and a palpable sense of menace. As the ambitious young columnist Sidney, the striking, smooth-voiced Ali Louis Bourzgui nailed the vocals but was still finding the smarminess of the character, at least at the performance I attended. Lizzy McAlpine brought a refreshingly girlish and unaffected quality — as well as an appealingly laidback warmth in her singing — in her portrayal of JJ’s younger sister Susan. Also worth mentioning is Aline Mayagoitia, who was a vocal standout in the smaller but pivotal role of Sidney’s girlfriend Rita. By and large, the Sperling’s production was smartly and effectively staged on the awkwardly proportioned Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, even managing to incorporate some nifty choreography during the big ensemble numbers (courtesy of Andrew Palermo). Like Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, the musical may have been ahead of its time, particularly with regards to its cynicism towards the inner workings of American society. Thanks to MasterVoices, we’ve been given the opportunity to re-assess this lost musical.