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| March 7–30, 2003 |
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| CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE |
Photographs by George
Wada
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In 1992 composer William Finn
was the toast of Broadway as his hit musical Falsettos, had
just won two Tony awards. Two months later he was diagnosed
with an inoperable brain tumor. A New Brain is his response:
not to the threat of affectionately satiric jabs at hospital
politics, lovers, mothers and medical procedures. A New Brain
presents a witty and delightfully tuneful look at the life of
an artist.
Cast: Donald Fowler; Doug Miller; Pam Peadon; Natailie
Wilson King; Jeff Kinman; Rick Prada; Stephanie Riggs; and Amy
Fisher Redmon. |
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| Meredith Lee, Theatermania.com |
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If a dancing frog can sing about
people losing their virginity "to those with whom they
have no affinity", then a composer can survive a supposedly
fatal brain tumor and write a musical in response to his experiences.
A New Brain, the semi-autobiographical show by composer-lyricist
William Finn (Falsettos, Elegies), premiered at New York's Lincoln
Center Theater in 1998. The Uptown Players' vibrant production
proves that this somewhat obscure celebration of love, life,
and art is a well crafted, meaningful piece of musical theater.
Word is that that the songs which eventually became A New Brain
poured out of Finn as soon as he returned from the hospital.
The show opens with composer Gordon Schwinn (Donald Fowler)
in quite the opposite situation: He cannot come up with a song
for the children's television show for which he works. When
Gordon collapses during lunch with a friend, he is taken to
the hospital, where a doctor finds "trouble in his brain".
Gordon's mother, his lover, and a friend gather to support him
as he prepares for surgery – but he also finds himself
at the mercy of that pompous doctor, two meddling nurses, an
uninvited minister, and even a bitter yet wise homeless woman.
Meanwhile, he is haunted by visions of his boss, Mr. Bungee
(Bruce Coleman), who nightmarishly but comically appears in
the frog costume and makeup that he wears as the TV show's host.
Although the plot of the show deals with serious issues, Finn
looks at everything with humor and understanding. In the Uptown
Players production, the dynamic story is complemented by colorful,
geometric scenery, designed by Andy Redmon, that literally pops
up from the stage when needed; the top of a triangular yellow
desk, a rectangular pink hospital bed, and other pieces are
always visible on stage, even when they are not being used.
In A New Brain, Finn pokes fun at what goes on in a hospital,
and Pamela Peadon (who also plays Gordon's mother) uses simple,
peppy choreography to make the upbeat musical numbers even more
amusing. Movements during "Heart and Music" at the
beginning of the show are somewhat awkward, but ensemble numbers
later on ("Gordo's Law of Genetics", "And They're
Off") capture the humor of the songs without overemphasis.
Particularly entertaining is "Eating Myself Up Alive",
in which the helpful and caring nurse Richard (Rick Prada) agonizes
over where his life is going.
Prada offers a sweet performance as Richard, "the nice
nurse". Amy Fisher does not make as much of an impression
as Nancy D., "the thin nurse", a character written
as the complete opposite of Richard. The funniest performance
in the role of a hospital figure comes from Jim Johnson as Dr.
Jafar Berensteiner. This fellow may be brilliant in the operating
room but he's clueless when it comes to dealing with patients
on a personal level. "And now I have to go," he declares
after breaking the news that Gordon requires an operation; "My
kids and I have tickets to Chicago!".
Fowler and Kyle Douglas Miller (as Gordon's lover, Roger) work
well together and deliver strong vocal harmonies, yet Fowler
is not always commanding in the central role. The featured actors
really shine in this production, from Coleman's evil Mr. Bungee
to Stephanie Riggs as Gordon's frazzled friend Rhoda, not to
mention Jeff Kinman as a soulful minister. As Gordon's mom,
Peadon is usually smiley, but the fear of a mother who might
lose her son slips in at just the right moments; Peadon's Act
II solo "The Music Still Plays On" is compelling.
N. Wilson King, with her powerful voice, does one of the show's
most effective turns as Lisa, the homeless lady who begs for
change yet refuses dollar bills.
"Life is wonderful," Gordon and Roger declare at the
end of the show. The message of A New Brain is that friends,
family, and art are worth fighting for even when it seems hopeless.
Gordon is an artist, but it is not until his near-death experience
that he can write his masterpiece. "What was dark so long
had felt like winter; finally, there's sun," he proclaims.
"And so I sing that I feel so much spring." This is
a beautiful musical, especially in the Uptown Players' appealing
production. |
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| Lawson Taitte,
The Dallas Morning News |
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It would be nice to say that if
Donald Fowler were starring in A New Brain on Broadway he'd
win a Tony Award. Sadly, celebrity frequently matters more than
talent in those races. It's safe to say, though, that no new
Broadway show this season will contain a leading male performance
sung this well or acted this convincingly.
William Finn's musical – probably the most inventive theater
score of the 1990s – never made it to Broadway, either.
It languished, largely unappreciated, in the basement of Lincoln
Center. Now Uptown Players is giving the show its professional
Dallas premiere. Friday's opening at the Trinity River Arts
Center was a smashing success.
Mr. Fowler plays Gordon, a song composer based on Mr. Finn himself.
In the first scene, he keels over in a restaurant. He spends
most of the rest of the play in a hospital room while doctors
try to figure out what has gone wrong with his brain.
Meanwhile, his mother (Pam Peadon), his boyfriend (Kyle Douglas
Miller) and his agent (Stephanie Riggs) mill around, trying
with little success to cheer him up. Gordon is an irascible
fellow, feeling pretty sorry for himself. His great fear, other
than of dying, is that he will never write the songs in his
heart.
This glum-sounding scenario actually provoked Mr. Finn to write
some of the funniest lyrics and jazziest melodies ever. A New
Brain is all about saying yes to life. It's the opposite of
depressing Regis Allison's production emphasizes the score's
theatricality, strongly assisted by Ms. Peadon's choreography
and Mark Mullino's music direction. Uptown Players has hired
an all-star cast. Virtually every performer has headlined major
shows hereabouts, and all turn in extraordinary work.
Still, it's Mr. Fowler who leaves you breathless. He sails through
the difficult vocal lines with a velvety sound and gorgeously
shaded dynamics. He creates a moving portrait of a complex individual.
He even manages to look comfortable in a hospital dressing gown.
If only they gave awards out for that. |
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| Perry Stewart, Star-Telegram |
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DALLAS – A songwriter, facing
death from a brain tumor, reflects on life, career and songs
unwritten. No, it's not too somber for a musical comedy, as
demonstrated by Uptown Players with a slick and upbeat staging
of the overlooked 1990s gem, A New Brain.
Composer/lyricist William Finn's autobiographical protagonist
is Gordon, stuck writing songs for a children's TV show. His
illness prompts him to realize that I Have So Many Songs. That's
one of many numbers delivered with consummate style by Donald
Fowler, whose portrayal of Gordon is the best element in director
Regis Allison's lively production.
Fowler is joined by Kyle Douglas Miller (as Gordon's lover,
Roger) on Heart and Music, which introduces some deliciously
funky counterpoint that Finn uses superbly throughout his score.
These two also team winningly on Brain Dead – a tango,
of all things.
Bruce Coleman is a hoot as the kid-show host, Mr. Bungee, hopping
around in a frog costume while spewing R-rated asides. N. Wilson
King hits the mark (and your conscience) as a homeless lady
who wants some spare Change. And choreographer Pamela Peadon
makes buoyant use of a larger than usual stage area at Trinity
River Arts Center. |
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| Lawson Taitte,
The Dallas Morning News |
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Donald Fowler's extraordinary
performance as Gordon, a composer with a brain illness, lies
at the center of Uptown Players' presentation of William Finn's
A New Brain. Every role, though, is taken by somebody who could
carry a whole show. Most have done just that.
Jim Johnson played the title role in last season's award-winning
Sweeney Todd at WaterTower Theatre. Here he has the minor part
of the doctor. Kyle Douglas Miller sings a couple of great numbers
as Gordon's boyfriend. Then-billed as Doug Miller, he won last
year's Rabin Award as the Baker in ICT Mainstage's Into the
Woods.
Bruce Coleman has done virtually every job onstage or backstage
at a dozen local theaters, including artistic director of the
sadly defunct New Theatre Company. In A New Brain, he's both
absurd and terrifying in his few minutes onstage as Gordon's
hallucination of his boss, the host of a kids' TV show who dresses
like a frog.
We could go on and on. But, finally, top plaudits must go to
a pair of women: Pam Peadon has gone from leading roles on Broadway
to winning two Rabin Awards last year – supporting actress
in both drama and musical. She looks the consummate pro as Gordon's
overly cheerful but well-meaning mother. Ms. Peadon's voice
isn't as steady as it once was, but she can still hoof it with
the best. And her acting here is so subtle and powerful that
we know this character as an individual woman, not a stereotype.
N. Wilson King has earned her considerable reputation because
of her powerhouse voice. A New Brain shows us how superb an
actor she can be, too. She makes a memorable figure of the homeless
person who defies stereotype. She's both scary and inspiring.
Just goes to show that the Dallas talent pool for musicals is
so deep these days that you can do just about any show with
distinction without casting from out of town. |
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