And finally, a reading!

Warsaw

Warsaw was my my final show for NYMF '07. I saw the second of two staged reading performances, which were part of the NYMF developmental series.

I had actually originally planned to see this for no reason other than that Kelly Jeanne Grant (Kathy in the '06 Company revival) was in it. Her performance in Company always stood out to me, with its pitch-perfect, sweet sophistication, and I was eager to see her in something else. But, as it happened, she scored another gig and was unable to participate.

The show is based on true events: the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising is one often told, and yet not one that should ever stop being told. It's a valiant effort to take on, though, because historical drama walks such a fine line between over-glorifcation of the event and realism. Where does drama end distortion of reality begin? That's what worried me about this heading in, but the writers have handled the story delicately and with respect. There are moments that don't work -- where musicalization of certain emotions don't work and feel awkward -- for example, when a mother must choose which of her three children will be allowed to live, her decision is contemplated in song. No matter how poetic, a song felt an uncomfortable way to display such a conflict. It seemed to me artificial: in reality, the mind would be in a state of panic, whereas in song, this mother quite literally weighed her options, detailing the best traits of her children and deciding who should live. But overall, it seems to have potential. Awkward moments are offset by beautiful love songs and sweeping choral numbers. The scores is fairly cinematic, and it does take on a rather "megamusical" feel (think Les Mis in Poland) at times, but not necessarily in a bad way.

There's often little to say about readings other than that which applies to the text itself. There was some staging, but with such a large ensemble, it's difficult to pull off much innovative -- nor is that the point with a reading, really. However, I must mention Josh Young, who played Roman, the male lead. Roman is a young Jewish man -- the ghetto walls separate him from his fiancee, who is a Polish Catholic. He often asks her to come with him to Palestine, where he and his family will be safe, but she is relucant to leave her home and family behind, and he will not go without her. He narrowly escapes imprisonment and joins a group of fighters. The cast was more than decent all around, but I found him to be quite a stand-out: he has a beautiful, full, legit voice, and really nailed his task with sincerity.