Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino’s Broadway-bound musical, “A Catered Affair,” which opened at the Old Globe Sept. 30, is insightful, touching, well-cast and intimate. Fierstein’s book was adapted from Paddy Chayefsky’s 1955 teleplay and the 1956 Gore Vidal film, “The Catered Affair,” which starred Ernest Borgnine and Bette Davis as the conflicted parents, locked in a 20-something-year marriage in which neither speaks the truth.
Though funny ” largely due to Fierstein’s sarcastic asides as the gay uncle, Jack ” it is deeper than film, due to Fierstein’s deft adaptation, in which more factors play into the characters’ motivations. Credit must also be given to director John Doyle, who elicits fine performances from the ten-person company composed of Broadway and off-Broadway veterans.
The show’s obvious heart, and protagonist, Aggie (Faith Prince) is the aggrieved mother of a son recently killed in the Korean War. Her stoic and inarticulate cabdriver husband, Tom (Tom Wopat), saved years for a taxicab of his own. Aggie wants to use the government death money and Tom’s savings to give their remaining child, Janey (Leslie Kritzer), a proper wedding. Janey wants only to elope with her intended (Matt Cavenaugh, familiar to local audiences for his appearance in “Palm Springs” at La Jolla Playhouse).
Bucchino’s music and lyrics might be termed integrated, in that they flow completely from characters’ inner and outer monologue/dialogues. Except for Janey and Ralph’s beautiful love song “Don’t Ever Stop Saying I Love You” and Tom’s 11th hour “I Stayed” (almost as powerful as the Soliloquy from “Carousel”) there are few stand-alone songs.
We are spared musical theater’s all-too-common stand-and-deliver anthems, but one departs the 90-minute musical a bit deprived and feeling that lead singers Prince, Kritzer, Wopat and Cavenaugh, each extraordinarily worthy, deserved more, and so do we. There is an effective quartet titled “Partners,” sung by Wopat, his partner Sam (Philip Hoffman), Kritzer and Cavenaugh. Other ensemble singing is fabulously written “” others in the company are Katie Klaus, Heather MacRae and Kristine Zbornik, who double as the gossips/other women; and Lori Wilner and Hoffman, who double as the Hallorans, parents of the groom. Music director Constantine Kitsopoulos effects a grand blend and the nine-piece orchestra under his baton is tight as can be.
Fierstein writes understatedly for himself, clearly casting the spotlight upon Prince, whose “Married” and “No Fuss” are emblematic of both women’s martyrdom and advice during the period. Yes, we wore those dresses designed by Ann Hould-Ward, and yes, wedding dresses were indeed sculpted like Janey’s. And yes, the neighborhood grapevine was vicious in the indictment of premarital sex and pregnancies that lasted less than nine months.
David Gallo’s facile set evokes the Bronx in 1953, creating tenement balconies, replete with laundry and gossiping neighbors, all of which/whom slide in and out gracefully, along with set pieces. The scenic elements are backed by mood-enhancing projections (by Zachary Borovay) and lighting by Brian MacDevitt. Dan Moses Schreier’s sound design is unobtrusive, totally in keeping with the chamber-size company and largely through-sung music-dialogue.
A brilliant directorial touch, a rare and devastating silence prevails at two dramatic key points, reminiscent of the effective quiet near the end of Jake Heggie’s opera, “Dead Man Walking.”
A most unusual new musical, “A Catered Affair” continues Tuesday to Sunday through Nov. 4 at the Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park. For tickets and information, visit www.theoldglobe.org or call (619) 23-GLOBE.