Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Irish Rep revives a ravishingly-sung ON A CLEAR DAY, that Lerner and Lane curiosity with a sterling score

• By drediman
• August 19, 2018
• No Comments

Melissa Errico and company in Irish Rep’s revival of Lerner and Lane’s “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”.

Let’s get it out of the way. My thoughts on Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner’s 1965 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever haven’t changed – it’s still one of the oddball curiosities in all of musical theater. Nevertheless, it’s great to see the show performed as it was mostly originally written, particularly after the 2011 head-scratcher that was the musical’s 2011 Broadway “revisal” starring Harry Connick, Jr. (it’s also the production that introduced New Yorkers to the luminous Tony-winner Jessie Mueller, who would go on to originate starring roles in Beautiful, Waitress, and Carousel). Clearly, On a Clear Day suffers from the Candide-syndrome – theater-makers can’t help tinkering with its problematic book in order to showcase Lerner and Lane’s sterling score.

The Irish Repertory Theatre’s revival, directed and adapted by artistic director Charlotte Moore, is sturdy and straightforward. It makes no apologies for the musical’s bizarre love story, which features a healthy dash of ESP and reincarnation (!), between a psychiatrist and his patient. Thankfully, Ms. Moore has focused the show around Lerner and Lane’s score, one of the more memorable from the golden age of Broadway, and it sounds ravishing – unencumbered and un-muddied by amplification, just like the good old days – within the intimate confines of Irish Rep’s space. As sung by a cast with significant Broadway credits and accompanied by an exquisite chamber orchestra (particular kudos to Josh Clayton’s gorgeous, sensitive orchestrations), I was in musical theater heaven.

The cast is headlined by Broadway veterans Melissa Errico (of My Fair Lady and Passion), Ben Davis (of Baz Luhrmann’s staging of La Bohème, Violet, and Les Misérables; he replaces the recently-departed Stephen Bogardus), and John Cudia (of The Phantom of the Opera). I’m happy to report that this trio was in fine voice, their respective instruments sounding stunning – no riffing here! – wrapped around the classic score. Their effortless stage presence and truthful line readings made me almost forget the show’s problematic gender politics and outdated views on alternative spirituality. Led by the music, I was thoroughly charmed by this On a Clear Day.

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ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER
Off-Broadway, Musical
Irish Repertory Theatre
2 hours, 10 minutes (with one intermission)
Through September 6