Whether we admit it or not, expectations play an important part of our theater-going experience. And, expectations start with titles.
For instance the Williamstown Theatre Festival is, through July 31, offering “Most Happy in Concert.” Since it features the songs of Frank Loesser’s “Most Happy Fella,” it is reasonable to expect it’s a concert version of Loesser’s near-operatic masterpiece.
It isn’t. That work included over 40 songs and took three hours to stage. This concert takes 70-minutes from start to finish. Simple math tells you much has been excluded. Except for a couple of songs, few are performed in their entirety. Fewer are recognizable as songs from the show which so magnificently revealed the personality and emotional state of the characters. I doubt that even the most expert Loesser fan would associate this concert with the show.
Too, the “Happy” in the title is also misleading. This is a production totally lacking in joy or humor. Indeed, one of the complete songs is “Standing on the Corner (Watching all the Girls Go By)”. It’s performed by the entire seven women in the cast. The concept is rich with potential humor and irony. There is none. Indeed this upbeat song is performed with the same dark, dreary feel that permeates the entire production.
In defense of the performers - the work on stage is beautifully sung. The seven actors whether as soloist, or as a group offer a gorgeous night of music. Even though there is little variety throughout the production – which is performed without any dialogue – even with each number sounding very much like the last number, there is no denying the beauty of the performances.
And indeed, “Joey, Joey, Joey” originally performed by a male does have a haunting quality. In fact, haunting, is a term that is an appropriate description of the entire evening, No one seems real, but neither are they ephemeral. This is a group of seven who have no sense of self or for a future.
Going back to expectations - because “Most Happy in Concert” is conceived and directed by Daniel Fish, the person who took Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic romantic musical “Oklahoma” and turned it into a dark, penetrating look at the west of the early 20th century as it probably existed, I came to this concert expecting insights that would disturb and force me to reevaluate my previous conceptions of “The Most Happy Fella.”
My guess – and I emphasize guess- is that Fish is trying to show the story through the eyes of the female characters in the original. It’s worth noting there is no mention of “Fella” in the Williamstown concert. Indeed in the original, the only character who ended up happy was Tony, the older man who ended up with a young beautiful woman for his wife.
I suspect that because in the WTF concert no one is identified as a character and no song is attributed to a performer that the actors represent a class of people. This explains why no song titles are assigned to certain singers and often a song is completed by a different person. These women exist not as people but as oppressed characters imprisoned by a culture that does not permit them an individual identity.
In the original musical, the female characters consist of Rosabella, a waitress who hijacks a by-the -mail romance that Tony, a successful older grape farmer, has been having with another woman. She sends him her photo, he sends her a photo of his young handsome foreman, who is supposed to be leaving town. Joe is not gone in time and he and Rosabella meet. They form an immediate attraction. After she marries Tony, Joe and Rosabella have a one night encounter which results in a pregnancy.
Another woman is Tony’s sister Marie, a bitter person who is subservient to her brother and constantly diminishes his self-confidence. Cleo is Rosabella’s close friend who leaves working at the diner and moves to the Napa Valley to be company for Rosabella.
A modern playwright or composer – think Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion” – would create a dark, dense musical using this trio. In 1956, when “Most Happy Fella” premiered the females were merely background. Again, my guess is Fish is trying to expose past emotional abuses in “Most Happy Fella” with this concert.
However, even if my assumption is right, the work is a failure. It’s a dreary hour-plus of music that is confusing and depressing. Except for a constantly moving shimmering gold Mylar curtain there is little visual interest on the otherwise bare stage.
Actually the curtain call was the most visual aspect of the night. Perhaps in an effort to atone for past years of neglect of backstage workers, musicians, interns and directors the stage was filled with people who had anything to do with production. I’m not sure, but I think I saw my ticket taker taking a bow on the crowded stage.
It’s a valid opportunity to honor individuals who are often neglected. However, the end result was the contributions of the seven extremely talented actors seemed somewhat diminished as they ended up in the back of the crowd.
After thinking about it, perhaps it is appropriate. It is what Daniel Fish did to Frank Loesser.
“Most Happy in Concert” continues through July 31 on the mainstage of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. For tickets and schedule call 413-458-3253 or go to wtfestival.org
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
