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Near-death experience: the musical
Finn's "A New Brain' at Plays and Players
Steve Cohen
A New Brain isn't an easy show to perform. Partly because it's about a man who collapses and undergoes brain surgery. Even more so, because it involves dark scenes that take place within the man's tormented mind. That's why the recent Plays and Players production was so impressive.
I've long loved this play, which premiered at Lincoln Center in 1998. A New Brain is essentially a true story, based on a near-fatal incident in the life of its composer and lyricist, William Finn, best known for Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The central character, Gordon Schwinn, is a frustrated children's TV songwriter who almost dies from a brain aneurism.
Beyond that specific crisis, however, A New Brain should resonate with every self-doubting man or woman who's beset by obligations, overwhelmed by life's events and wondering whether he or she will ever achieve anything. Gordon is plagued by twin fears: not just that he will die, but that if he lives, he won't be the same man he was before.
The ending celebrates survival and hope as Gordon returns to good health and a life filled with love and music. Director Daniel Student stresses the script's comical side while never neglecting the music.
Hit ballads
Finn's score includes at least two ballads that, in an earlier era, would have become hit songs: "I'd Rather Be Sailing," a wistful love song, and "The Music Still Plays On," a mature woman's reflection about how life continues after a series of losses.
The cast is exceptionally talented albeit largely unknown. Brendan Norton, Dan Plehal, Jennifer Ann Hutten, Eric Longo, Susan Ilene Johnson, Joe Sabatino, Jason Stockdale, Sara Schmukler, Grace Field and Rob Cutler comprise a superb ensemble. Even the smaller roles are sung gorgeously.
A gay everyman
Brendan Norton as Gordon is especially quirky and lovable. It's worth noting that the part also can be interpreted as a gay everyman— less flamboyant and more serious than common theatrical gay stereotypes. The script portrays a gay relationship that's taken for granted by Gordon's straight friends and by his mother and isn't the cause of Gordon's angst. That was quite a liberating take for a play written in the 1990s.
The company that staged this production is a new professional iteration of the old amateur Plays and Players group, housed in and taking the name of the little old historic gem of a theater that has operated on Delancey Place since 1913. Daniel Student, its artistic director, says the company now wants to attract "members" rather than "subscribers""“ stressing audience input and informal get-togethers between its stage productions.
I've long loved this play, which premiered at Lincoln Center in 1998. A New Brain is essentially a true story, based on a near-fatal incident in the life of its composer and lyricist, William Finn, best known for Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The central character, Gordon Schwinn, is a frustrated children's TV songwriter who almost dies from a brain aneurism.
Beyond that specific crisis, however, A New Brain should resonate with every self-doubting man or woman who's beset by obligations, overwhelmed by life's events and wondering whether he or she will ever achieve anything. Gordon is plagued by twin fears: not just that he will die, but that if he lives, he won't be the same man he was before.
The ending celebrates survival and hope as Gordon returns to good health and a life filled with love and music. Director Daniel Student stresses the script's comical side while never neglecting the music.
Hit ballads
Finn's score includes at least two ballads that, in an earlier era, would have become hit songs: "I'd Rather Be Sailing," a wistful love song, and "The Music Still Plays On," a mature woman's reflection about how life continues after a series of losses.
The cast is exceptionally talented albeit largely unknown. Brendan Norton, Dan Plehal, Jennifer Ann Hutten, Eric Longo, Susan Ilene Johnson, Joe Sabatino, Jason Stockdale, Sara Schmukler, Grace Field and Rob Cutler comprise a superb ensemble. Even the smaller roles are sung gorgeously.
A gay everyman
Brendan Norton as Gordon is especially quirky and lovable. It's worth noting that the part also can be interpreted as a gay everyman— less flamboyant and more serious than common theatrical gay stereotypes. The script portrays a gay relationship that's taken for granted by Gordon's straight friends and by his mother and isn't the cause of Gordon's angst. That was quite a liberating take for a play written in the 1990s.
The company that staged this production is a new professional iteration of the old amateur Plays and Players group, housed in and taking the name of the little old historic gem of a theater that has operated on Delancey Place since 1913. Daniel Student, its artistic director, says the company now wants to attract "members" rather than "subscribers""“ stressing audience input and informal get-togethers between its stage productions.
What, When, Where
A New Brain. Music and lyrics by William Finn; book by Finn and James Lapine; Daniel Student directed. January 13-29, 2011 at Plays and Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Pl. (215) 735-0630 or www.playsandplayers.org.
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