Preview Thoughts on The Beast in the Jungle

Composer John Kander has given so much to the world and to American musical theater - I'm just a big fan.  The Scottsboro Boys is one of my most favorite recent musicals, so when a new collaboration between Kander and director Susan Stroman was announced, I bought a ticket immediately.  I went to an early preview last night, so I'll only offer a few thoughts.

Described as a "dance play," The Beast in the Jungle is inspired by a Henry James novella and is the story of John Marcher, a no-longer-young-man who has been haunted for many years by a 'beast.'  We find out, through flashbacks, what the beast means to John and what he has run from for many years.  Peter Friedman plays the older John Marcher, Tony Yazbeck plays the young Marcher in the flashbacks, and former ABT ballerina Irina Dvorovenko plays the other pivotal character, May.  

The story is told in three parts, in three different flashbacks, each at least 20 years apart, and there is narration, but mostly the story is played out through dance.  Each important moment in the lives of these characters is portrayed through dance and the gorgeous music throughout by John Kander.  There is also a lot of rather experimental features in the production, utilizing lighting, puppets and costume pieces in very unique ways.

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

This is one of the most ravishing shows to look at I've ever seen - the lighting designer, Ben Stanton, has done some miraculous work here, making the small Vineyard stage look expansive and universal.  I also really enjoyed the interesting fabric manipulations and puppets used; once I got myself out of my 'naturalistic' brain space, I felt free to just sit back and let this completely unique piece wash over me.

Tony Yazbeck and Irina Dvorovenko are beautifully expressive dancers and can say more with their movement through space than through mere words.  So much so that I rather wished they didn't speak at all and let all the narration come from Peter Friedman's older character looking back.  But I totally get why that's not really an option.  But I found their dances together to be sublime.  A lot of the choreography was done by the ensemble of six terrific women and I enjoyed how they were utilized throughout.  

I really enjoyed The Beast in the Jungle and found its utter uniqueness to be fascinating.  I will also say that I found the character John Marcher to be a narcissist and played the victim a little too much, but by the end of the piece, I was quite moved.  And, yes, I had a sudden realization about my life.  It's been a while since I've had one, so there's always that.  Hearing more beautiful and theatrical music by John Kander is always a treat and the dancing was grand to see from so close (I was in the second row - poor Tony Yazbeck seemed to be drowning in sweat, that's how close I was).  I'll be interested to see how this piece is received when it opens next week (I think).  I found it to be totally unlike anything I've seen, but I know that some people don't find that a plus.  Good thing I do.  👩