Pittsfield, Mass. – “The Royal Family,” a 1927 play by George F. Kaufman and Edna Ferber is a beloved backstage look at the Cavendish clan, an egomaniacal acting family that is thinly based on the famous Barrymores.
Bigger than life theatrical characters, coupled by a theme that says following your muse is the path to happiness, makes the material seem an ideal choice to be developed into a musical.
Therefore, it’s exciting that the production of “The Royal Family of Broadway” is being given its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass. through July 7. The effort shows both the promise of the premise and the problems of adapting the specialized material into a musical.
Barrington Stage presents the work with a gifted cast, a bundle of money for a great set, period-perfect costumes and just about everything else needed for a first-rate production. This includes a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn. This is the Barrington Stage team that developed the sweet Broadway and regional theater hit - “Spelling Bee.”
With all these assets, it’s confusing that “The Royal Family of Broadway” is not a show that you go home and urge your friends to see. To be sure, it’s not a dirge of a show that you would keep anyone from attending – but you would qualify all recommendations.
For example, it is impossible to fault the performances. Harriet Harris is warm, funny and cynical as the family matriarch, Fanny. She fears that the family is, one by one, deserting the stage. Will Swenson is a delight as the flamboyant Tony, who has become a movie matinee idol and is always running away from scandal. Daughter Julie is about to retire from the stage to marry a wealthy tycoon and move to South America.The sweet young granddaughter Gwen is about to give up her potential career to marry an investment banker (gasp) and move to Westchester.
The performers create colorful, fun characters and Finn writes a special song for each of them. Though most are pleasant, only the songs written specifically for Gwen and performed by Hayley Podschun are consistently memorable. Indeed, among a cast of all-stars, it is the performances of Podschun and her beau Perry, played by A.J. Shively, who really stand out as individuals.
Likely that’s because the pair are the most normal. Everyone else is so broad and work so hard to be idiosyncratic, they rarely seem genuine. More important, though their extreme self-centeredness brings a smile to your face and stimulates occasional laughter, rarely do they seem individuals you’d want to spend time with.
Since their biggest crisis involves the loss of their legacy, and because we never given the chance to see them as talented individuals,it is difficult to be empathetic to the family.
It is the group numbers that provide the more enjoyable moments in the show. The title song “The Royal Family of Broadway,” the five-guy number “If You Marry an Actress” and the tapdancing opening number “Just Another Regular Night” all bring needed energy to a work struggling to find its focus.
Whatever the problems with the show, no blame can be put upon the direction of John Rando. He guides his cast to find the charm in characters who lack charm and choreographer Joshua Bergasse fabricates energy when the show seems to suffer from inertia.
“The Royal Family of Broadway” is a work that has its moments – good and not-so-good. But rarely is it consistent, engaging fun.
It continues at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass through July 7. Tickets and schedule information at 413-236-8888, or barringtonstageco.org
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
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