Review - Queen of the Mist

I got a discounted ticket to a recent preview of Michael John LaChiusa’s new musical Queen of the Mist, presented by the Transport Group at The Gym at Judson (near Washington Square Park).  I am predisposed to enjoy Michael John’s work (I greatly admire his devotion to writing risky work featuring complex female characters) and this production is no exception.  My fingers are crossed that it gets recorded, because I would love to listen to this score again.

The show is based on a real-life woman, Anna Edson Taylor, the first woman to successfully go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.  But it also makes commentary on obsession, both personal and societal, and the public’s desire for sensationalism.  I think it’s quite successful in putting across many of these ideas, though I didn't understand some directorial choices (I really didn’t understand what the ‘dance with the items in the suitcase’ conceit was all about, for example).  

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

Mary Testa plays Anna, and she is fantastic.  Anna is a quirky, alienating, provoking character and, well, Mary Testa is just the gal to play her.  Mary’s off-beat line readings and sort-of ‘out there’ persona works just perfectly here.  And she sings the heck out of this music.  Her first number, “There is Greatness in Me,” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard from Michael John.  And her duets with her sister, played by Theresa McCarthy, were gorgeous.  Mary is giving a specific, mesmerizing performance here.  I actually liked the entire cast, especially Andrew Samonsky as Anna’s manager—their relationship was quite touching and could even have been explored more.  Well, I didn’t love one gal in the show, but I never love her.  I guess it’s not her fault that she reminds me so much of Helen Hunt that I just can’t enjoy her.  Oh well.  She has a big voice, though.  I found myself aggravated though when she began audibly sobbing at the end, and I don't think it was a character choice.  It was as if she was saying "look at how moved I am," as an actor.  I would've much preferred to get there on my own through Mary Testa and not through a loudly sobbing aactor behind her.  But that's just me, I guess.  A grudge is a terrible thing to waste.  I need to snap out of it.

The first act of the show is spectacular; it deals with the reasoning and the lead-up to the barrel ride over the Falls.  The second act I found less successful, but I think it’s an inherent dramaturgical problem:  how do you make interesting a story about a woman who refuses to tell her story?  Part of the point of the second act is that Anna is unable to truly share herself and she feels that if she tells everything about her ‘deed,’ it will kill her, because there will be nothing left to her.  An interesting notion, but hard to dramatize.  I’m not sure how, or if, this can be solved.  It’s just a puzzle, because the first act is such a thrilling ride, leading to an amazing first-act closer, then the second act is sort of an anti-climax.  Now, I realize that the ‘second act’ of Anna’s life was probably also an anti-climax, but that doesn’t make it any more interesting to watch.  I did lose a bit of interest dramatically, until the finale, but I never lost interest in the music.  It’s all really terrific.  Each actor is given a moment to vocally shine, but the show is mainly about Mary Testa and her amazing performance.  And Michael John's terrific score.

The space is interesting—it’s the downstairs at the Judson Memorial Church.  It’s set up as a long playing space, with risers on either side.  I will say I had a moment of vertigo before the show started, because the risers are angled really steeply, but I got over it.   All the sightlines were fine and I think this is a good story to present so intimately.  I don’t know that every show would work here, but I would definitely go back to see other work there.

I think the show opens this weekend, so you can probably get cheap tickets now, but I’m hoping it gets really good reviews and sells out (there aren’t that many seats, maybe 150?).    I may be alone on the Michael John bandwagon, but I'm not giving up my seat.  I think this is definitely a show worth seeing, especially for Mary Testa’s performance.