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12/16/2015Theater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The Public | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=205c2343-8998-425a-a3b6-17fce9356129&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/5Theater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The PublicTheater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The PublicTHE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE *** 1/2 out of **** THE PUBLIC THEATERMusicals cover every topic under the sun: rebellion, forbidden love, politics, passion, war, peace, family, despair,death and of course love in all its forms. But friendship -- that enduring aspect of our lives (especially in a worldwhere marriages come and go) -- friendship is not often at the heart of a show. It is the sweet center and drivingforce in The Fortress Of Solitude, a new musical at the Public based on the novel by Jonathan Lethem.Friendship is the entire story of the first act, where Dylan (Adam Chanler-Berat), the rare white kid growing up inBrooklyn in the late 1970s, is rescued and befriended by Mingus (Kyle Beltran). This is a show with a lot goingon, thanks to a rich and satisfying book by Itamar Moses. They cover race (of course) and the changing timesand gentrification and music, always music, from the complex choral work that dominates many key moments tothe convincing dives into pop, soul, rap and punk.Yes, the story drifts into too familiar territory -- with the more privileged white boy becoming a rock critic and theless privileged black kid slipping inexorably into dark times -- and yes these good friends drift apart, which justisn't fun. But ain't that life? The show is shaggy and a little awkward as it crams in everything it wants from thejoys of listening to music and breaking down one particular song to comic books to tagging to escaping bullies togirls. That's part of the particular charm of this show. This is no polished, tourist-eyeing product. It's an original,fresh and fascinating work and one of the best musicals of the year. It isn't perfect and I'd love to see it again.I can't speak to the novel, which I haven't read, but doubtless the show captures its spirit because there's somuch of that on tap here. The uniformly excellent cast brings characters large and small to life, from the girls onthe block who skip rope and provide running commentary to record producers, back-up singers, and countlessothers. Eighteen actors are listed but they seem like many more.It begins with Dylan moving into Brooklyn at the behest of his mom Rachel (Kristen Sieh). She wants to make astatement and be part of change, all those liberal Seventies aspirations, right down to her bell-bottoms. She alsotakes off, leaving her family behind for good. Sieh has a small role, but thanks to the excellent costumes ofJessica Pabst we immediately buy her as the sort of person who would take off and indulge herself at theexpense of her son. Sieh is the sole weak voice in the show, but her character leaves a convincing void inDylan's life.That lost boy gets by as well as he can, trying to avoid the local bully Robert (an excellent Brian Tyree Henry).When he's not asking his somewhat hapless painter father Abraham (Ken Barnett) if when mom is cominghome, Dylan is listening to the albums she left behind, especially a now obscure soul artist named Barrett RudeJunior (Kevin Mambo, impressively broken down).Lo and behold, when Dylan is taken under the wing of another kid who doesn't like to see him pushed around,it's Mingus Rude (a haunting and winning Kyle Beltran). They become friends thanks to Dylan's persistence andsoon enough they're talking comic books, hanging out all the time and becoming bolder and bolder about thegraffiti tags Mingus is leaving on subway cars.Okay, maybe I love the show because its central character is a freelance writer, a rock critic to be exact. But the
12/16/2015Theater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The Public | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=205c2343-8998-425a-a3b6-17fce9356129&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/5first act truly soars as it captures the growing friendship of these two kids. Chanler-Berat was such a charmer inPeter And The Starcatcher. Here he captures the mildly geeky but endearing Dylan with quiet charisma tospare, proving himself a star, the best nerdy sex symbol since Anthony Rapp in Rent.Barnett matches him moment to moment as the more complicated and conflicted Mingus. He's got a dad sinkinginto despair and drugs, a granddad who gets out of prison and immediately starts hounding the local teenagegirls when he's not preaching hellfire (a commanding Andre De Shields with equally commanding hair) and not alot to look forward to at school.So many elements work beautifully in this first act, with every technical element doing their best as the showsegues seamlessly from urban grit to a flashback of Barrett Rude Junior in his heyday (complete with a songthat does indeed sound like a lost soul nugget) and always the sense of a community surrounding all of this.Scan the credits: every single artist involved is working in top form, right down to the orchestrations of JohnClancy and additional orchestrations of Matt Beck that capture so many styles of music, often in the sameelaborate sequence. (Kudos to the sound design of Robert Kaplowitz working overtime as well.)But you don't remember dazzle; you remember the characters, the way Dylan is quietly singing along to a songby Mingus's dad and how it touches and amuses his friend, how Mingus is perplexed by Dylan putting all of hiscomic books into plastic sleeves, the passion when Dylan breaks down a soul classic during a lecture, theunself-conscious way they hold hands when "soaring" above the city as superheroes, tagging subway cars andwearing capes.Of course, it ends, as childhood always does. Dylan and Mingus drift apart, starting with Dylan's chance toswitch to a better school. Act Two is less enjoyable as the link between these two vivid characters begins to frayand they are essentially apart. But the music is always there throughout the show, from Robert's convincing rapto the spot-on mimicking of the Ramones on "High High High School" to shout-outs to almost every genre youcan name that flourished in that era.The signature style of the music and lyrics of Michael Friedman is not that effective and engaging display ofchameleon-like ability. It's the choral moments, the songs where one character is singing one song and anothercharacter is singing another and they overlap and come together, sometimes seamlessly, sometimesdiscordantly, but always with purpose and style.This is a complex and rich show directed with style by Daniel Aukin and choreographed with grace by Camille A.Brown. Sometimes, one viewing of a movie or one reading of a book or certainly one listen to an album just isn'tenough to appreciate it fully. (Just ask Dylan!) I look forward to the recording of a cast album so I can take it inagain and again.In 2012, I saw the musical Giant at the Public and that big, bold, hugely appealing show should have jumpedimmediately to Broadway. It's distressing to say the least that a work like that which "belonged" on Broadwayhasn't gone there yet. The Fortress Of Solitude is funkier, baggier, goofier, stranger and just as impressive. Idon't know its commercial fate and what life it's going to have after this run. But I know its artistic fate: TheFortress Of Solitude will flourish.THEATER OF 2014Beautiful: The Carole King Musical ***Rodney King *** Hard Times ** 1/2 Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead ** I Could Say More * The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner **
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=205c2343-8998-425a-a3b6-17fce9356129&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/5Theater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The PublicTheater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The PublicTHE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE *** 1/2 out of **** THE PUBLIC THEATERMusicals cover every topic under the sun: rebellion, forbidden love, politics, passion, war, peace, family, despair,death and of course love in all its forms. But friendship -- that enduring aspect of our lives (especially in a worldwhere marriages come and go) -- friendship is not often at the heart of a show. It is the sweet center and drivingforce in The Fortress Of Solitude, a new musical at the Public based on the novel by Jonathan Lethem.Friendship is the entire story of the first act, where Dylan (Adam Chanler-Berat), the rare white kid growing up inBrooklyn in the late 1970s, is rescued and befriended by Mingus (Kyle Beltran). This is a show with a lot goingon, thanks to a rich and satisfying book by Itamar Moses. They cover race (of course) and the changing timesand gentrification and music, always music, from the complex choral work that dominates many key moments tothe convincing dives into pop, soul, rap and punk.Yes, the story drifts into too familiar territory -- with the more privileged white boy becoming a rock critic and theless privileged black kid slipping inexorably into dark times -- and yes these good friends drift apart, which justisn't fun. But ain't that life? The show is shaggy and a little awkward as it crams in everything it wants from thejoys of listening to music and breaking down one particular song to comic books to tagging to escaping bullies togirls. That's part of the particular charm of this show. This is no polished, tourist-eyeing product. It's an original,fresh and fascinating work and one of the best musicals of the year. It isn't perfect and I'd love to see it again.I can't speak to the novel, which I haven't read, but doubtless the show captures its spirit because there's somuch of that on tap here. The uniformly excellent cast brings characters large and small to life, from the girls onthe block who skip rope and provide running commentary to record producers, back-up singers, and countlessothers. Eighteen actors are listed but they seem like many more.It begins with Dylan moving into Brooklyn at the behest of his mom Rachel (Kristen Sieh). She wants to make astatement and be part of change, all those liberal Seventies aspirations, right down to her bell-bottoms. She alsotakes off, leaving her family behind for good. Sieh has a small role, but thanks to the excellent costumes ofJessica Pabst we immediately buy her as the sort of person who would take off and indulge herself at theexpense of her son. Sieh is the sole weak voice in the show, but her character leaves a convincing void inDylan's life.That lost boy gets by as well as he can, trying to avoid the local bully Robert (an excellent Brian Tyree Henry).When he's not asking his somewhat hapless painter father Abraham (Ken Barnett) if when mom is cominghome, Dylan is listening to the albums she left behind, especially a now obscure soul artist named Barrett RudeJunior (Kevin Mambo, impressively broken down).Lo and behold, when Dylan is taken under the wing of another kid who doesn't like to see him pushed around,it's Mingus Rude (a haunting and winning Kyle Beltran). They become friends thanks to Dylan's persistence andsoon enough they're talking comic books, hanging out all the time and becoming bolder and bolder about thegraffiti tags Mingus is leaving on subway cars.Okay, maybe I love the show because its central character is a freelance writer, a rock critic to be exact. But the
12/16/2015Theater: 'Fortress Of Solitude' Soars At The Public | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=205c2343-8998-425a-a3b6-17fce9356129&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/5first act truly soars as it captures the growing friendship of these two kids. Chanler-Berat was such a charmer inPeter And The Starcatcher. Here he captures the mildly geeky but endearing Dylan with quiet charisma tospare, proving himself a star, the best nerdy sex symbol since Anthony Rapp in Rent.Barnett matches him moment to moment as the more complicated and conflicted Mingus. He's got a dad sinkinginto despair and drugs, a granddad who gets out of prison and immediately starts hounding the local teenagegirls when he's not preaching hellfire (a commanding Andre De Shields with equally commanding hair) and not alot to look forward to at school.So many elements work beautifully in this first act, with every technical element doing their best as the showsegues seamlessly from urban grit to a flashback of Barrett Rude Junior in his heyday (complete with a songthat does indeed sound like a lost soul nugget) and always the sense of a community surrounding all of this.Scan the credits: every single artist involved is working in top form, right down to the orchestrations of JohnClancy and additional orchestrations of Matt Beck that capture so many styles of music, often in the sameelaborate sequence. (Kudos to the sound design of Robert Kaplowitz working overtime as well.)But you don't remember dazzle; you remember the characters, the way Dylan is quietly singing along to a songby Mingus's dad and how it touches and amuses his friend, how Mingus is perplexed by Dylan putting all of hiscomic books into plastic sleeves, the passion when Dylan breaks down a soul classic during a lecture, theunself-conscious way they hold hands when "soaring" above the city as superheroes, tagging subway cars andwearing capes.Of course, it ends, as childhood always does. Dylan and Mingus drift apart, starting with Dylan's chance toswitch to a better school. Act Two is less enjoyable as the link between these two vivid characters begins to frayand they are essentially apart. But the music is always there throughout the show, from Robert's convincing rapto the spot-on mimicking of the Ramones on "High High High School" to shout-outs to almost every genre youcan name that flourished in that era.The signature style of the music and lyrics of Michael Friedman is not that effective and engaging display ofchameleon-like ability. It's the choral moments, the songs where one character is singing one song and anothercharacter is singing another and they overlap and come together, sometimes seamlessly, sometimesdiscordantly, but always with purpose and style.This is a complex and rich show directed with style by Daniel Aukin and choreographed with grace by Camille A.Brown. Sometimes, one viewing of a movie or one reading of a book or certainly one listen to an album just isn'tenough to appreciate it fully. (Just ask Dylan!) I look forward to the recording of a cast album so I can take it inagain and again.In 2012, I saw the musical Giant at the Public and that big, bold, hugely appealing show should have jumpedimmediately to Broadway. It's distressing to say the least that a work like that which "belonged" on Broadwayhasn't gone there yet. The Fortress Of Solitude is funkier, baggier, goofier, stranger and just as impressive. Idon't know its commercial fate and what life it's going to have after this run. But I know its artistic fate: TheFortress Of Solitude will flourish.THEATER OF 2014Beautiful: The Carole King Musical ***Rodney King *** Hard Times ** 1/2 Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead ** I Could Say More * The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner **