No matter what people want to think - there are no lost masterpieces in theater.
Proof of that is on display in the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre where “Pipe Dream” plays until August 31.
The musical was created in 1955 by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers, when both were at the height of their popularity. They were famous for “Oklahoma”, “Carousel” and just four years before “Pipe Dream,” they wrote “The King and I”.
Adapted from the John Steinbeck novel “ Cannery Row” and its sequel “Sweet Wednesday,” it was an eagerly awaited event. It opened to the biggest advance sale for a Broadway show up to that time.
Reviews were poor and word of mouth terrible. It only ran for 255 performances. “Oklahoma” ran for 2,212. There has never been a major revival of the work.
There might be some good shows that have been overlooked. Too, some neglected works look better after a fresh revival. The musicals “Chicago” and the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” are examples.
However, neither are masterpieces. Nor is “Pipe Dream.” In fact, it isn’t even a good show. In 2024, the reason to go is it’s a rare opportunity to see a curiosity. And, you can always find something to appreciate in a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
It’s tough with “Pipe Dream.” The story rarely engages the audience, the music is serviceable and the characters are without distinction.
The Berkshire Theatre Group production is of little help. Part of the lore about the show’s failure is Richard Rodgers didn’t want to do a play that centered on a prostitute working in a house of ill- repute.
In the musical’s source material, John Steinbeck created a defiant character, Suzy, whose path to happiness is at the center of the work. In creating “Pipe Dream” everything Steinbeck wrote was sanitized and the grit of lost souls struggling for dignity was eliminated.
The Berkshire production portrays Suzy in the same tepid manner. Deprived of her strength and independent way of thinking, Suzy becomes a bland figure about whom it is difficult to even care about.
Worse, she does not seem a good match for Doc, the reclusive, kind environmentalist who does his dreary research for the betterment of man.
Having Suzy cure his loneliness is the redemptive mission of the work. Without it, there is no point to the show. Here we don’t care if they get together.
Though the cast acquits itself well - especially as singers - they are too young for the story. They look more like recent college graduates than they do people who are driven to despair because of having lived long, empty lives.
It seems unfair to be critical of a director who fails with bad material. However, director Kat Yen qualifies to be judged for repeating the mistakes of the past with her staging of the show. The pacing is slow, the storytelling muddled and the performances are misguided.
On the subject of staging, a poorly designed set piece hides the characters from the audience at the most important moment of the play. To have the emotional climax of the show revealed mostly through projection is scandalous. It brings a further sense of amateurism to the production.
If you want to see a rarely produced theater piece lost to history, then “Pipe Dream” is for you. But, if you go, do not expect to discover a neglected masterpiece.
“Pipe Dream” plays at the Unicorn Theatre of the Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge, MA through August 31. Tickets and information at berkshiretheatregroup.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.
