As fictional biographies of music theatre legends go, "A Class Act" has a unique form, and most of its music hasn't been heard before. More of Edward Kleban's will probably make it out of the trunk because of this show. He was of course the lyricist for "A Chorus Line", which made his fortune, but hardly ruined his life. The failure of his other musical projects can be attributed more to his myriad neuroses, starting with his conviction that he was first and foremost a composer. Which this show demonstrates that he surely was. But Kleban primarily was a songwriter, whose best creations didn't find an outlet until after his death. The argument about whether his lyrics were better than his music is essentially pointless in this case. These songs have been honed so that their musical settings and words are highly integrated. So much so that one may wonder if the essential tunes behind the music made dancable by Marvin Hamlisch weren't inherent in the lyrics Kleban supplied.
As for this show, there's little question. Linda Kline, his last companion in collaboration with director Lonny Price constructed a long and loving tribute to a quirky, often annoying songsmith. The current book, based on the show as transferred to Broadway in the spring of 2001, is more sophisticated than its premise suggests. The show opens just before the memorial service organized by his friends, which was held onstage at the Shubert where ACL was still running. When the Wedgewood urn holding his ashes is placed on the piano--it's the Olivier Award he received for The Show--Kleban's shade appears in the audience to start the opening number, "Light on My Feet", an ironic bit of wishful thinking. As the evening progresses, many of the scenes take place at BMI Music Theatre Workshop sessions where most of the songs were heard originally. Kleban, here done by Jon Blackstone, is revealed, phobic warts and all. This part was taken over at the last for the first production at the Manhattan Theatre Club by Lonny Price, who then continued in the role for the Broadway transfer. His obvious closeness to the piece and its rewrite may account for driven quality of the character, which Blackstone plays remarkably well.
Neurotics like Kleban aren't easy people to like, which may account for the mixed critical response to the show. Though embraced by the theatrical community, and probably due to become a small theatre standard, its Broadway run was only three months post 9/11/01. Speakeasy's production has the intimacy of the original done with the company's usual flair. Their fall production of "BAT BOY; the Musical" picked up five IRNE Awards this month, including best small musical and best director. It will be revived for the second time next month. Kerry Dowling, who plays the "mom" in BB, appears here as Sophie, a composite of some of the smart women in Kleban's life. Could her name--Sophia for wisdom--be merely an accident ? Her most important number is "The Next Best Thing to Love", Kleban's answer to his biggest hit from ACL but early in the show she helps set elegiac tone in the duo, "One More Beautiful Song."
The other important voice in the show belongs to Leigh Barrett, who as Lucy is something of a stand in for book author Kline. Barrett won praise last year as Fosca in Speakeasy's production of "Passion." Here she becomes a strong ensemble member, but gets to shine in "Broadway Boogie Woogie", a show-biz song which should start turning up in cabaret acts any day now. The other two first-rate women in the show are Gretchen Goldsworthy whose Felicia, a record executive, gets to badger the hero in "Don't Do It Again", and Emily Swanson, a Boston Conservatory Music Theatre student, whose "Mona" is delicious showstopper.
The men in the show are somewhat in the background, as apparently in Kleban's life. Joe Siriani plays Lehman Engel, the Workshop's original mentor with charm, compassion, and just enough avuncular swish to suggest Engel's importance to the hopefuls attending his workshop. Will McGarrahan, seen in "Dirty Blonde" last fall at the Lyric provides comic relief as Bobby, the highschool band leader and percussionist in the group--with a bad toupee--and ironic satire as Michael Bennett, the chain-smoking begettor of ACL. Andrew Miramontes , also Boston Conservatory student plays Charley, another wannabe in the workshop. He gets his moments as Marvin Hamlisch reluctantly collaborating with Kleban on The Show. There's a bit of stereotype in all the performances in this show, even the lead. It's a Musical, and IRNE winning director Paul Daigneault makes the most of them, getting real emotion when needed, and iconic behavior as needed. The characters are clearly composites, chosen to present songs from more than a dozen projects; including "Better" recorded but not released by Streisand, which became a show-stopper for Phyliss Newman’s one-woman show, "The Madwoman of Central Park West
Ultimately, "A Class Act" is a musical about desire and aspiration, about the "impossible dreams" which drive theatre people, about friendship which arise between unlikely associates dedicated to a particular art. If the audience gets into its spirit, by the time its hero sings his "Self-Portrait", from an autobiographical piece he was working on at his death, the show can be really moving, a particular virtue which separates a good musical from a great one. If you just can't stand people like Ed, --or the friends who praise and protect them--, the show is too long, too precious, and not entertaining enough. So don't go. Go see "Mamma Mia" instead.
Speakeasy's production has just enough glamour to suggest Broadway, and just enough sparseness to suggest backstage. Gail Buckley's costumes set time and place as the show shifts from past to present and back, from '70s gaudiness to subdued funeral attire. Eric Levenson's set includes the famous mirror wall from ACL when needed and uses onstage lighting as an important element too. Mostly there's the baby grand, a batch of chairs, and well-lit space, done once again by IRNE winning designer Karen Perlow. Music director Paul Katz at the keyboard as usual gets full sound out of a small ensemble, blending well with this experienced cast. The company has mastered production of complex shows in using the peculiar configuration of the BCA Theatre.