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Posted on Thu, Jan 27, 2011 : 11:26 p.m.

Ann Arbor Civic Theater does itself proud with seldom-seen musical 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'

By Roger LeLievre

Rosewater1.jpg

Photo by Tom Steppe

When word arrived that Ann Arbor Civic Theatre was staging the rarely-performed musical “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” based on the story by author Kurt Vonnegut, I wondered just how good the show could actually be. After all, there had to be a reason it didn’t make it any farther than off Broadway, despite music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

After seeing Civic’s production Thursday night, I still don’t have a clue why “Mr. Rosewater” — the first collaboration between Menken and Ashman, who would shortly thereafter team up for such classics as “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” — wasn’t a hit. It certainly had the potential.

First, a word of caution: Don’t assume, simply because this is a Menken/Ashman work, that it’s all musical theater fluff, or that it’s suitable for children — far from it. The topics here are serious (greed, mental illness, alcoholism, betrayal) and some of the language is adult.

The story, set in the early 1960s, centers on kind but troubled Eliot Rosewater (Brodie Brockie) who, despite appearing to have it made, is miserable. Although he has a powerful senator for a father (Edmond Reynolds), a lovely wife (Heather Wing) and a job as president of a multi-million-dollar foundation, he’s also haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder and associated guilt. When Eliot runs away from his life to pursue his life-long fascination with volunteer firefighters and lands back in the rundown town of his ancestral roots, a shyster lawyer (Matthew Antonini) steps in to try and take everything away from Eliot and cut himself in on a fortune in the process.

Brockie is nuance-perfect as the title character. Clearly conflicted, he is utterly believable as a troubled soul who has no easy answers for the demons that haunt him. It would be a cold heart indeed that would not break watching Rosewater descend into alcoholism and insanity — perhaps a cold heart like the one possessed by his polar-opposite father (a made-for-the part Reynolds), whose sneering disdain for the lower class folk his son chooses to help came through loud and clear. Antonini played his weasel-y young lawyer with relish, and Wing was mesmerizing as her sanity slowly unraveled in a memorably dramatic scene about the choice of hors d’oeuvres at a dinner party. I loved Bob Skon in his dual roles; likewise Andy Hoag, Adele Roy and Matt Steward.

If the topics were serious, the musical numbers — with often gleefully irreverent lyrics — provided plenty of comedy. The expertly choreographed and executed “Thank God for the Volunteer Fire Brigade” and “Cheese Nips” in the first act, as well as “Rhode Island Tango” in the second act, brought lots of laughter. But there was nothing funny at all about “Thirty Miles From the Banks of the Ohio,” a moving song about the plight of the unemployed that sounds like it was written yesterday.

Rob Roy, the Pinckney High School drama teacher who directs the show, kept “Rosewater” clipping right along. The decision to use a minimal set (think “Our Town”) was the right one, as it kept the focus right where it belonged — on the story. The costumes provided some nice eye candy, and the 1960s wigs were perfect, as was the seven-piece live combo that provided the music. "Rosewater" is lucky to have such a strong ensemble cast, several of whom played multiple roles with ease.

Catch this one while you can. “Mr. Rosewater” is a moving show with some great songs, and Ann Arbor Civic did itself proud presenting it. Chances are good it won’t roll around here again anytime soon.

"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" continues Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., in the Arthur Miller Theater, U-M’s Walgreen Drama Center, 1226 Murfin. Info: 734-971-2228 or the A2CT website.

Comments

Nick

Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 7:55 p.m.

Very nice article come check out our Facebook page dedicated to Howard <a href="http://tiny.cc/howardashman" rel='nofollow'>http://tiny.cc/howardashman</a>

Suki

Fri, Jan 28, 2011 : 9:09 p.m.

Thank you for the review. We're going tonight and I didn't know anything about the play. I'm very much looking forward to it. I've been impressed with the quality of the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre offerings.