I am trying to remember when I last saw two actors go through their paces as if they were Olympic Athletes.
A Real Thing
I have often thought there should be an event called Theatre Olympics in addition to the various theatrical awards. Actors would all perform the same scenes, songs, monologues, or soliloquies. And they would be judged on that particular performance. Were this a real thing, Brian D’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara would walk away with every prize there was.
Grace and Self-assurance
Watching O’Hara and D’Arcy James in “Days of Wine and Roses” is thrilling and exhausting. These two thoroughbreds navigate this difficult and overwritten score with grace and self-assurance. Every song that O’Hara sings is an aria. D’Arcy James takes on his music with the precision of a fencing master. This is a master class in every way.
Belly up at the Bar
The story and this script are straightforward for those who don’t know. It is the 1950s in New York City (Madmen era), where the men drink competitively, and the women are meant to go along or get along or belly up to the bar themselves. Joe (Brian D’Arcy James) and Kirsten (Kelli O’Hara) meet at an office party on a yacht where he mistakes her for a call girl – odd that because she is reading a book – Draper’s Encyclopedia of Self-Culture, Volume Four.
His Crutch is Liquor
The book and its presence remain unclear other than it is a sort of chaperone for the couple’s relationship. After some sparring on the yacht, they pretty much fall for one another on the spot. She is a bright, brilliant woman bursting with life who has just had her first drink because of Joe and rather likes it. He is a veteran caught between the disappointment of the Korean War and a job that demands more out of the office than it puts in. His crutch is liquor, which he defends because the boys in the office expect him to drink. He doesn’t admit that it also dulls the pain of living a life of disappointment.
Kirsten reminds him that there is love and possibility out there.
Joe Nearly Dies of Alcohol Poisoning
Until the drinking takes over, under Joe’s tutelage, Kirsten, who has never had a drink before, begins to drink a LOT. It makes her feel dangerous, and she likes that. In one scene, Joe brings home whiskey, champagne, and tequila, and they drink all three while singing and dancing. It’s not believable, but we will go along with it. Soon, the drinking has escalated to the point that their home is set on fire. They retreat to Kirsten’s father’s house. Arnesen (Byron Jennings) owns a greenhouse (those familiar with the story know where this is going), and for a few months, they find refuge, even though he blames Joe for introducing his daughter to liquor. Everything goes fine until it doesn’t. The two easily slip back into drinking one night, and Joe nearly dies of alcohol poisoning.
Pathetic Betrayal
The final chapter of the story deals with Joe tackling his drinking with the aid of AA – a relatively new organization in the 1950s. Kirsten rebels against that path, which she considers a pathetic betrayal, and leaves Joe to be a single father to their daughter, Lila (the charming Ella Dane Morgan).
To be certain, this is an odd choice for a musical. The writers take on a dangerous topic – and that is brave. I think they wanted to show us the underbelly of this beast of alcoholism and its ability to overwhelm the most well-intentioned among us. This show succeeds in doing so.
Disjointed and Repetitive
However, if it were not for D’Arcy James and O’Hara, there would be no “there” there. To say this musical is overwritten is an understatement. However, it is not the top-heavy book but the score. The songs are disjointed and repetitive. I don’t know how these two actors remember where they are in each because the songs have no standard placement locations – like a beginning, middle, and end. Each number could easily be cut by 50%, and we would still get the point. But it feels as though Mr. Guettel does not trust his writing and instead insists on repetition rather than specificity.
The Straw that Broke Me
This predicament was evident from the start, but so compelling are the performances of D’Arcy James and O’Hara that we are willing to follow them anywhere. The straw that broke me came in the near-to-final scene when Joe made a sandwich for Lila while she sang a duet of letter reading between her and Kirsten. A few bars into the song, I realized I was more interested in what was in the sandwich than what was being sung. That is a damn shame.
Days of Wine And Roses
Book by Craig Lucas, Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel, Directed by Michael Greif, Choreography by Sergio Trujillo & Karla Puno Garcia, Directed by Michael Greif, Based on the play by JP Miller and the Warner Bros. film. Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre
With Brian D’Arcy James, Kelli O’Hara, Steven Booth, Sharon Catherine Brown, Bill English, Nicole Ferguson, Olivia Hernandez, Byron Jennings, David Jennings, Ted Koch, Ella Dane Morgan, Elena Shaddow, Scarlett Unger, and Kelcey Watson
Through July 16 at Atlantic Theater, Lind Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street. Tickets HERE.
Readers may enjoy our reviews of Flight by Mastervoices with Kelli O’Hara, Faith by Mastervoices with Kelli O’Hara, and Dreamgirls at Café Carlyle.