Talkin' Broadway Review

Posted by on 4:11 pm Sep 22nd, 2007
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Belinda with "her hair"

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Saturday, September 22, 2007 Theatre Reviews by Matthew Murray Unlock’d “What dire offence from am’rous causes springs, / What mighty musicals rise from trivial things!” Those are not quite the first two lines of Alexander Poem’s mock-heroic narrative poem “The Rape of the Lock.” But had Pope been aware in the 1700s of the sparkling comic operetta Sam Carner and Derek Gregor would coax from his cutting parody of the petty squabbles of the well-off and present at the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival, he might well have considered a rewrite in the final draft. Their show, titled Pope’s lead in re-envisioning modern concerns in slightly (and not-soslightly) antiquated ways. But though stretches of couplet-heavy rhyming remain as tribute to Pope and there are more than a few Baroque riffs worthy of Bach, Carner (book and lyrics) and Gregor (music) have derived their inspiration more from more theatrical types ranging from John Gay to Romberg and Hammerstein. The result is a show that in word and song is as stageworthy as it is hilarious, which is to say quite a lot. Two combating love stories - one between beautiful young Belinda (Sarah Jane Everman), her half-sister Clarissa (Jackie Burns), Belinda’s betrothed Edwin (Christopher Gunn), and the dashing Baron Windsorloch, and one focusing on the three virginal sylphs (Alison Cimmet, Maria Couch, and Mary Catherine McDonald) and their lusty gnome admirers (Darryl Winslow, Christopher Totten, and William Thomas Evans) - give the show its bulk. But it’s that lock, in this case a tuft of Belinda’s hair the girl has named Beatrice, that gives it its drive, inspiring events storied enough for Greek tragedy but wacky enough for Roman comedy. An all-out fencing scene, the women wielding knitting needles and the men violin bows, is the culmination of the ridiculousness arising from the grooming and chopping down of Unlock’d, follows MORE . . . Clockwise from the top: Mary Catherine McDonald, Maria Couch, Sarah Jane Everman, and Alison Cimmet. Photo by Bruce Glikas. UNLOCK’D / TALKIN’ BROADWAY REVIEW / Page 2 Beatrice (a whole song is devoted to her praise), but laughs aplenty are found too in Belinda’s flightiness, the Baron’s smarmy charm, and even - when necessary - divine intervention. The score, though, is no laughing matter: Its resplendent melodies and sumptuously romantic lyrics engage the ear and heart in equal measure. They’re attractively orchestrated by one of Broadway’s best, Bruce Coughlin, and played by a fine four-piece orchestra under the skillful baton of Eric Svejcar. To single out a number would be unfair - too many glitter far too brightly - though I will admit special fondness for the creamy, complex harmonies of “Hampton Court” and some frustration with “By the Light of Your Love,” which sounds like it was written more for the pop charts than for the characters singing it. Regardless, gorgeous voices and warmly funny performances are all you’ll find from the cast, though Everman’s lilting soprano (which becomes a fierce belt in one number) and flawless comic timing give her a slight, Kristin Chenowethian edge over her costars. But everyone is equally responsible for making Venue: TBG Theater, 312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues Schedule: Sunday, Sep 23rd at 8:00 pm Saturday, Sep 29th at 1:00 pm Sunday, Sep 30th at 1:00 pm Tickets online Unlock’d one of the most ravishing musicals of 2007.NYMF.org