Members of the Broadway Community, take heart. That big hit musical you've been dreaming about since Cats is finally headed your way. With its luscious score and captivating story, The Pirate Queen could soon displace Wicked as the most sought-after theatre ticket in the country.
(Remember, you can always buy Pirate Queen tickets at TicketLiquidator.com even when it's sold out everywhere else.)
Built around the legend of 16th Century Irish hero Grace O'Malley, this tale of romance and empowerment challenges popular perceptions of women in a way that hasn't been done since Rosemary Harris stole every scene with her Tony-winning Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter.
The hero of the tale, you see, is a real, actual, complex human being. It's refreshing to see art that creates a female character who goes beyond what Hillary Rodham Clinton refers to as the "talking dog syndrome" (you don't expect a dog to speak at all so when it does you are impressed regardless of what it says... the same goes for women speaking well as leaders). The Pirate Queen rejects that simplistic view and instead paints a nuanced portrait of Grace that will resonate strongly with younger female audience members.
Certainly O'Malley was a feminist in every basic sense of the word, defying chauvinist stereotypes and living life on her own terms. Here on the stage her story is being told in a way that honors the power of women not merely as defiant tomboys, but also as nurturing mothers, level-headed politicians, fierce warriors and passionate lovers. All those things, at the same time, in the same woman. That's the insightful hand of two writers (both married heterosexuals, mind you...) who have woven into their story the many competing ideas of what a true heroine should look like. Their lead character alone, deftly play by Stephanie J. Block (The Boy from Oz, Wicked Nat'l Tour) is reason to see the show.
However, it's not only the feminist history that makes this show compelling. There's also a doomed love, a doting single father, a fair bit of swashbuckling and sword fighting, a deliciously regal Queen, a raucous cad, a marriage, a funeral, and a dastardly villain. The writers have blended all these elements with high aspirations and even higher production values to create a mythically-proportioned show that will keep you on the edge of your mezzanine level seat for every minute of the three hour run time.
The Pirate Queen will be the third big success for impresarios Boublil and Schoenberg, who famously co-wrote the timeless classics Les Miserables and Miss Saigon. They also, less famously, teamed up to create a big flop called Martin Guerre. Luckily, that failure seems to have been a creative anomaly. The Pirate Queen is poised to carry on the acclaimed legacy that began with Les Mis. Cleverly directed by Frank Galati (The Grapes of Wrath, Ragtime), the talented cast sings, and at times dances (Don't panic. It's not West Side Story), its way across a brilliantly fluid stage design courtesy of the legendary Eugene Lee (Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Candide).
Before I delve into details, there's a very important caveat here: the show is still in previews. When I saw it, it was still in the *first week* of previews. These things mature as they play to real audiences, and The Pirate Queen is still young. So if you see it now, take it with a grain of salt. And take this review as what it is meant to be-- observations about a work in progress that I conclude has incredible potential.
Because there is no spoken dialogue in the show, the songs do all the heavy lifting of exposition. This is a risky choice but an obvious one for Boublil and Schoenberg, who write all their shows this way. Schoenberg's music is, as usual, soaring and melodic, while Boublil's lyrics are at once narrative and expressive. The combination of the two is irresistible, but it presents a few problems of character development early in the show. I won't be giving anything away when I tell you that the first few songs ("All Aboard the Ceol Na Mara", "Here on this Night", "Battle at Sea") take us by the hand and hurry us through some requisite plot points in record time, leaving us breathless and slightly confused. After sitting for the first 20 minutes with eyebrow raised and a disappointed smirk beginning to form on the corner of my lip, however, I began to understand that chaotic opening is necessary to pave the way for the real journey to unfold. (Note to producers: It still needs some serious tweaking before you bring it to New York. See my notes at the bottom of this post).
And what a journey it is, wearing its heart on its sleeve in every song yet managing to stay comfortably short of cloying-- no small task in a theatre community that has most recently offered us such insultingly ill-developed musicals as Woman in White and Lestat. Dubhdara, masterfully played by Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown, Side Show) captivates in his role as Clan Chieftan and proud father of Grace O'Malley. The paternal relationship is, in fact, the strongest in the show, and it is obvious from the very beginning that Dubhdara and Grace have a deep, unshakable bond.
The relationship between Grace and her lover Tiernan is less convincing at the outset, but handsome, talented newcomer Hadley Fraser finds his stride in Scene 9 and brings a tear to every eye as he belts out "I'll Be There" (think Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" with a heavy dose of testosterone). Through the rest of the show, Fraser develops Tiernan into a Bridges of Madison County lover almost worthy of our pirate queen's devotion. By the time this show opens on Broadway I expect the heat between Fraser and Block to be turned up a bit so we really believe in their love a little earlier in the show.
The leading lady's reluctant husband Donal, played by Marcus Chait (Urban Cowboy) hits the nail on the head with Schoenberg's rousing anthem "Boys'll Be Boys" to earn the defensive indignance of the entire audience. So well, actually, that he garnered less applause at curtain call than his counterparts... mostly because we still couldn't forgive his betrayal of Grace, even after the curtain went down and the house lights came on. I call that good acting.
In response to this inferior husband's attempt to control her, Stephanie J. Block as Grace sings what is possibly the best song in the show, "Because I am a Wife". Vacillating between despair and rage, she hits every note both musical and emotional, then ends the song in a defiant triumph. It's a difficult song to master and a crucial moment in the show. Kudos to Tara Rubin Casting for wooing a talent like Block who could carry such a part.
A more controversial female figure is Queen Elizabeth, played as comic aria by Linda Balgord. In the preview I saw, she had three songs that basically retrod the same path of Oh-Wow-It's-Cool-that-I'm-the-Queen-Now-and-I'm-Adjusting-to-this-Newfound-Power. (Note to producers: One is enough; two if they show more of a progression.) Even as the writers experiment to find the right balance for her important character, Balgord plays every inch the regal figure of a virgin queen with a cool comic edge and a reticent power. She enters the stage as a fairytale villain and ends the show with the respect of Grace and the audience. Her stage presence is buoyed by Martin Pakledinaz' (The Pajama Game) costumes for her and her ensemble court, which are an absolute delight. Forthcoming rewrites aside, Balgord takes on this edgy role with aplomb.
As for the lighting and effects design, the work of Messrs Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray) and Gregory Meeh (Cirque du Soleil) respectively, both are well conceived and flawlessly executed. Within Lee's stage design, these ambient elements of the set allow it to morph seamlessly from a pirate ship to a queen's court to a foggy moor and back again.
All told, The Pirate Queen boasts a stellar cast, an expert creative team and a potentially classic score. Admittedly, there are kinks to work out, but it's obvious in every aspect of this show that everyone involved is completed invested in making it the best musical possible. The raw materials are good, they're headed in the right direction, and they've convinced this reviewer that they've got what it takes to show up on stage at the 2007 Tonys.
Now, for the team behind The Pirate Queen, my notes:
(This first set of pointers is on the house, but if you want to send me a couple more tickets for the NYC opening you can get in touch by emailing pluggedin@ticketliquidator.com)
- Alain and Claude-Michel, pay close attention to this first one, because nobody's ever said this to you before: it's too toned-down. You've obviously learned some lessons from your previous work, but streamlining your story and clarify the lines in this case leaves it a bit dead. Keep the clarity. In fact, continue the streamlining effort, but somehow I want a little more melodrama. For heaven's sake, this is musical theatre! More tears! More gasps! (from the audience, not the cast) Just don't get campy. It's a fine line to tread but I believe you can do it.
- Go ahead and jump right into the assumption that Tiernan and Grania are already in love, but make us believe it a little bit more. Their recurring pledge of love song doesn't do it for me. Either they're desperately in love in the very first scene and we see the chemistry, or there's got to be more revealed about how and why they fall in love. So far it seems like they're just childhood friends with a little crush on one another.
- How exactly did Grania earn the respect of the pirates? Something with the sail? That's not so clear but it's a key point. That storm scene would benefit from a little more spoken word. In fact, the first 30 minutes could do with a few more sentences. I know it's not your style, but it would help.
- Also in the opening scenes, please remember the enormous value of a pause. Silence can be profound.
- Dubhdara's injury during the first British ship invasion... he was grazed on the arm by a sword? That's what incapacitated him and caused him to cede command to his daughter? I don't think so. It's laughable. A pirate captain needs to be in life-threatening danger to hand over the wheel.
- You have Dubhdara saying "If you weren't a woman Grace I'd put you in charge." and then, without missing a beat, Grace walks over to the crew of oarsmen and they name her captain. It doesn't make sense. He just said he'd like to but won't. So why does she then become captain anyway? How about "Grace, you may be a woman but you've got the heart of a pirate. You're the only one I trust to lead the men while I recover." You know... or something like that...
- The queen's first three songs sound the same and are sort of difficult to understand. I get that we're seeing a girl become a queen, but it's boring and unnecessary. Keep one of them, then give her a more useful aria. I like the whole concept, but she needs better lines and more variation in music.
- It might be too late and this is a minor point, but please get rid of the labels on the constellations when you put up that lovely starry night background. They're distracting and amateurish. Keep the outlines and everything else about it, just remove the text.
- Why do you put Grania on top of a rock at the end of "Because I am a Wife"? The whole rock thing doesn't make much sense. Lose it.
- "She, Who Has All" is a pretty and useful piece, but we need a lot more from the Queen to explain how she gets to that place before the duet. Maybe swap out one of those unnecesary earlier songs for a more introspective aria. You've made her a 3-dimensional character, and rightly so... don't be afraid to explore more of her.
Things you absolutely shouldn't touch:
- The shipboard choreography for the oarsmen. Actually, everything about the ship set is spot-on. Don't touch it.
- The pub scene with Donal and his rowdy friends.
- Every Irish dance.
- Everything about the relationship between Dubhdara and Grace.
- Tiernan's solo.
- Scene 12.
LOVED IT!
I saw this show TWICE the week before it closed and my mom and I absolutely loved it. The music is amazing and the costumes are outstanding. I have the shirt, the poster, the CD, and the color pamplet-thingy. I think it ended WAAAAAAAAAYYYYY too soon.