Traveling along the theatrical highway since the 1950’s, Road Show is a fictionalized musical about the architect Addison Mizner. He was the man who initially and very successfully brought the Mediterranean revival style to Florida. Addison was friends with Irving Berlin. When a book called The Legendary Mizners was published, Mr. Berlin wrote a musical which was never produced. Steven Sondheim started his own version (“The Last Resorts”) about the same time.
Mr. Sondheim later collaborated with book writer John Weidman for more than a decade revamping this show. The first outing was the 1999 off-Broadway Wise Guys starring Nathan Lane and Victor Garber. By 2003, the show was substantially rewritten and called Bounce. Harold Prince directed the Chicago and Washington tryouts which received mixed to negative reviews. In 2009, Road Show was produced in New York with a major female character dropped along with the intermission. The score won an Obie and a Drama Desk award for a short-lived production.
Working and Promenade are also part of this year’s Encores! Off-Center program focusing on musicals about the American Dream. Road Show is a very loose adaptation of the story of Addison and his brother Wilson. When their father (Chuck Cooper) dies, they head to Alaska to join the gold rush. Schemer Wilson wins a saloon in a poker game. Despite “Brotherly Love,” Addison takes off on a trip around the world which will ultimately inspire his architectural style.
Will Davis directed and choreographed this show which has been presented in a staged concert version. With more than twenty scene locations (and little set), this production seamlessly shifted from New York to Alaska, Hawaii, India and Florida. On a pivotal train ride to Palm Beach, Addison meets and falls for Hollis Bessemer (Jin Ha). Hollis’ wealthy aunt hires Addison to build a giant mansion in Palm Beach and the rest is history.
After conquering South Florida, they dream up a city to be called Boca Raton. Wilson schemes his way back into his brother’s life for “the most significant piece of real estate to come on to the market since God foreclosed on the Garden of Eden.” Much of this story is wildly exaggerated or invented but the spirit of these two brothers, the Boca project and Addison’s homosexuality are not.
Mr. Sondheim’s music is old-fashioned and very tuneful with flourishes of his other scores twinkling in now and then. Quite a few numbers were stellar. As Mama Mizner, Mary Beth Peil (Anastasia, The King and I) beautifully sang the very funny “Isn’t He Something!” about her favorite son. The “Boca Raton” ensemble piece was ingeniously staged to lampoon the frothing-at-the-mouth, castle-craving, obscenely wealthy elitists. In a full production with a big set, the song would likely be a spectacle and stop the show cold. This version had to settle on brilliantly clever.
Brandon Uranowitz and Raúl Esparza played Addison and Wilson Mizner. Mr. Uranowitz (Falsettos, An American in Paris) is always excellent. His Addison blooms from a nerdy follower to a romantic lover to an annoying architect. His duet with Jin Ha, a gorgeous rendition of “The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened,” was a highlight.
Addison’s complicated on-again, off-again relationship with his brother is the thread flowing through Road Show. Mr. Esparza (Leap of Faith, Company) was an ideal Wilson. A conniving schemer who is only interested in playing “The Game,” the character lives large and requires a big performance. That was delivered. When the two brothers “Go” at each other at the end of the show, everything that preceded it made the moment vivid and intense. I found I did not like either man and that to me was a compelling conclusion.
Most critics don’t seem to like this show. I disagree. I was highly entertained and impressed by this cast and this creative skeletal production. The show is definitely not perfect. For example, the around the world travelogue has been done better elsewhere. How many more versions of Road Show will there be? Who knows? I’d advise you to run to City Center this week and make up your own mind. Sondheim is always worth the trip.