The final three productions in this year’s New York Musical Festival are diverse in style and subject matter. One takes place out west where guns rule and there are plenty of saloon gals. Another harkens back to 1962 and considers how society, families and the medical profession dealt with homosexuality at the time. The last show takes place on Diamond Beach, the location of an eerie mystery from the past.
The Gunfighter Meets His Match (Production)
There is a lovely piece of theme music that weaves throughout The Gunfighter Meets His Match. The trumpet is featured in the melody and you can conjure up the wild west from old memories when this genre was popular in the movies and on television. I expect there were other songs I could select as particularly melodious but this production was so busy, it was hard to focus. As a ballad was sung, six people would be encircling the performer for no reason and with unflattering choreography. This musical was written by Abby Payne who also plays the saloon’s piano player, May. The story is basic and there is little in the way of character building. A woman from the city moves to the west, gets married, then meets the gunfighter who teaches her to shoot. Along the way he sings, in the same song, “let me show you a little lovin’ darling” and “why don’t you teach me how to love?” This small, underwritten story could not bear the weight of the staging. As the title character, I enjoyed Michael Hunsaker’s performance. The tone of his characterization was probably where this musical should have grounded itself.
Sonata 1962 (Production)
In “Making The Day” Margaret Evans sings “do what you should and nothing will ever go wrong.” FORESHADOWING, in capital letters. Soon thereafter her daughter Laura enters and is visibly suffering through headaches. They are a side effect of her undisclosed treatment. My guess was that she had a lobotomy. The musical then goes back in time to tell the story of Laura, a supremely talented pianist who receives a scholarship and goes off to college. She meets and falls for Sarah. The chemistry exhibited by Christina Maxwell and Anneliza Canning-Skinner brightens this musical considerably, notably in “Movie Theater.” All the other characters are one-dimensional. Things predictably get serious and the medical profession’s barbaric treatments for sexual deviancy and sociopathic disorders are brought front and center. Sonata 1962 has some interesting moments and there are a number of tuneful songs including “I Will Run.” Toward the end of this musical, mom gets to sing “Take It Off,” a bizarrely out-of-place distant cousin to “Rose’s Turn” from Gypsy. A few too many reprises and a message heavy lament close this underdeveloped show.
Between the Sea and Sky (Production)
When a musical has a soaring, intricate score, I sometimes find myself focusing on the music rather than the staging. Under Michael Bello’s accomplished direction, that was impossible as I wanted to see every moment of this atmospherically moody yet fun show. In 1999, two sisters are sent to their grandmother’s beach house for the summer as their parents are getting a divorce. This community certainly has its share of elderly folk who remember a mysterious death that occurred when hippies were in town thirty years earlier. In the opening number, a woman appears as a specter. Who is she? The elder sister is currently reading Shakespeare’s The Tempest and sees a beach mystery that needs solving. Between the Sea and Sky is a richly woven fable which managed to effectively balance its ambitions as part musical comedy, part cryptic puzzle and part lushly imagined fantasy. Luke Byrne wrote the book, music and lyrics to this show and its cohesiveness is abundantly clear. Songs make sense for the story, the characters and add significantly to the mood. The surprises delight. Every performance was excellent. I loved this new musical which has been optimally showcased to reveal its charms. A grand finale to the festival; feeling fortunate that I chose to see this show last.