Review - Pipe Dream

I wanted to jot down a few thoughts about Encores’ current production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Pipe Dream.  Even though the show ran nearly 250 performances in 1955, the show was considered a flop and it certainly wasn’t one of the team’s favorites of their work (at least as far as what I've read).  But I’m glad I saw it, considering it hasn’t been seen in New York since its original run and I doubt it would ever have a major revival.

Based on John Steinbeck, Pipe Dream takes place on Cannery Row in Monterey.  There’s not much plot, per se, just a lot of ‘will they or won’t they’ tension between our leads, a marine biologist (played by Will Chase) and a gal of indeterminate profession (played by Laura Osnes).  Leslie Uggams plays a madam with a heart of gold; Tom Wopat is a Luther Billis-type character, and we meet other denizens of the flophouses and waterfront.

The show is perfectly pleasant, though a bit boring as well, since nothing really happens.  I realize the problem can partly be attributed to the cutting of the libretto for a concert version, but even the stuff that remains is kinda dull.  Seriously.  Nothing happens.  Doc meets Suzy, Fauna wants them to get together, two and a half hours later, Doc crawls through a pipe (get it?) and they do. 

Not that there’s anything exactly wrong with having very little plot.  If the characters were compelling, or something vaguely dramatic were happening, that would make up for it.  But…there isn’t.  It’s just kinda nice, sorta sweet, a bit charming, and fairly dull.  I mean, hello, you have a bordello.  Let’s spice it up a bit.  You can certainly see why this show doesn’t really rank with the top notch stuff from R & H.  And no one loves an R & H musical more than me.  In Pipe Dream, I think perhaps there are too many characters, so you can’t really get to know anyone.  And there are too many group numbers, which are most likely meant to provide the atmosphere, but don’t.  And the script is too vague about Suzy’s ‘profession.’  Clearly, she’s supposed to be working in Fauna’s brothel, but the text has been so watered down (it’s well-documented that Hammerstein had trouble writing for the lowlifes in this piece), it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

The cast is very good, though, and there IS some lovely music, especially Suzy’s “Everybody’s Got a Home But Me” and Doc’s “All at Once You Love Her.”  Oh, and the duet between Fauna and Suzy is gorgeous.  Some of the music, though, sounds like a first-draft to Carousel.  Will Chase and Laura Osnes are appealing and attractive and sing beautifully.  If their acting isn’t quite setting the world on fire, well, neither are their characters, though a little subtext from the two of them might have been helpful.  Leslie Uggams kicks some butt and looks fantastic.  Tom Wopat was fine.  The guy playing Doc’s other best pal was way overplaying the ‘dimwitted-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold-and-maybe-he’s-smart-after-all’ kind of thing.  And why he has a solo in the second act is beyond me (clearly I realize this isn't the actor's fault).  Philip Hernandez was terrific as Joe and I would’ve liked to have seen more of him.   I think the show has been directed to move at too stately a pace (a little more oomph would’ve been fun) and the choreography, while interesting, looked a little too stylish for these decidedly un-stylish people.  Was that what they were going for?  I guess it didn’t work for me.

So…sorry, blah blah blah.  It’s not a great show, but I think it’s still worth a look.  City Center is lovely, hearing a full orchestra play Richard Rodgers music is always a treat, and Will Chase and Laura Osnes are pretty to look at and listen to.  There are worse ways to spend your time.  J

**six years ago, I reviewed the Lincoln Center revival of Awake and Sing, which I loved; two years ago, it was Time Stands Still, which I also loved.  I adore Donald Margulies...