Road Show

(Alexander Gemignani with the company. Photo: Joan Marcus)

Road Show, at the Public Theater, is the latest incarnation of a long-in-development musical by John Weidman (book) and Stephen Sondheim (music/lyrics). It is loosely based on the lives of Addison and Wilson Mizner, two brothers whose adventures in "making it" go from the Alaskan gold rush at the turn of the century to the land boom in Florida during the 1930s. There are successes and then spectacular failures, throughout which a common theme is Addison's searching level-headedness and Wilson's hedonistic, risky impulsiveness. The biggest failure comes in Florida after Addison builds a successful business as an architect designing palatial homes for the rich and famous. Wilson reappears in Addison's life after years of estrangement, proceeds to inflate sales and speculation on the real estate until the bubble bursts catastrophically. A wee bit of relevance to the housing bubble burst of today, no? Don't worry, this production certainly doesn't let the audience forget that.

Honestly, I didn't care very much for Road Show. There was evidence of craft and insight, particularly in Sondheim's music and lyrics and in the masterful performances of Alexander Gemignani, Michael Cerveris and Alma Cuervo as Addison, Wilson and their mother, respectively. But it was all so boring, an only moderately amusing and rambling biography of two people searching for wealth and success in that oh-so-American way. Two hours with no intermission felt more like three and a half. I didn't find either of the characters very savory or sympathetic, and was thus was not very willing to travel with them on their journey of self destruction. Usually there's at least something to keep interest, but I figured out from the outset almost exactly what kind of flaws will bring these characters down. As each episode in the Mizner's lives began I could help sarcastically thinking, 'Great, more disappointment!' And the relevance to the current financial crisis? The company reminds us by giving us an intense glare with flootlights ominously shining up on their faces, as if to tell us 'This is you, everyone, YOU!!' Tedium.

Second photo: Alexander Gemignani and Michael Cerveris, by Joan Marcus.