Near-Death Experience
Theater Preview
When
American composer William Finn was diagnosed with a brain tumor, his career was
taking off. His musical Falsettos had
met with success on Broadway. The tumor nearly killed him. However, when he
returned from the hospital, he found that he could not sit down at the piano
without writing a good song. The near-death experience had jarred a sense of
life into him that carried through the keyboard. Having survived the ordeal, he
put together a musical about it called A
New Brain. It’s the story of a commercial composer who narrowly survives a
brain tumor while working on music for a children’s program. The Windfall
Theatre closes its season with an expressionistic production of the musical,
which opens May 2.
The magic of A New Brain comes from the fact that Finn (and his counterpart in
the musical) survives the operation, so audiences can expect the show to go in
an uplifting, inspirational direction. If the Windfall production carries the
show in this direction without the story’s emotions becoming the slightest bit
forced, the production could end up being quite well balanced.
Larry
Birkett stars as composer Gordon Michael Schwinn who is forced to juggle life,
death and diagnosis while interacting with his mother, his lover, his doctor,
two nurses, a minister and a TV frog named Bungee, among others. The ensemble
includes Windfall regulars such as Thomas Rosenthal, Marilyn White and
Producing Director Carol Zippel joined by talent more commonly seen elsewhere
like David Flores and Kristin Pangenkopf. The play focuses on human drama, so
the production will be sparse—the perfect sort of fare for the tiny confines of
Village Church Arts on
A New Brain rests in the borders between a
number of dichotomies. Not really having a fully cohesive plot, the show is
more of a cycle of songs with a dramatic arc than a traditional musical. Here
it is riding the edge between classic musical theater and cabaret, though it
touches on very serious subjects that bear considerable dramatic weight. This
poses an interesting challenge to any production: If the mood moves too far
away from the drama of the main character's condition, it runs the risk of
losing sight of the central conflict. If the mood veers too far from
traditional musical theater, it loses much of what makes the show so unique.
“The dichotomy … is what makes this show so much fun for the actors and the
audience,” says director Shawn Gulyas.“You never know what's going to happen next—just as you would if you
were facing an uncertain future.” With respect to specifics, the decisions
Gulyas and company have made are driven by the music and the lyrics. When the
play dives into the mind of the main character, the drama of the moment takes over.
“When we jump inside Gordon's mind,” says Gulyas, “things can get a little
crazy.” A New Brain runs through May
17.
Also in Theater:
Wi State Fair 08
Summerfest 08
City Guide 08
Best of Milwaukee
