Theater Review: Fiorello!

by Mark Lowry

As sharp as Lyric Stage’s founding producer Steven Jones has been in nabbing regional- and world-premiere musicals, not to mention gussying up well-known classics with full orchestras, he has outdone himself with the current staging of Fiorello! And it’s not just because he has unveiled an admirable (if occasionally flawed) staging of this criminally forgotten Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning gem.

Jones' big achievement here is in the timing.

Fiorello! gives us a musical taste of a true maverick Republican with look-defining eyewear — Fiorello H. LaGuardia — in about two decades as a Congressman representing East Harlem, before he would become New York City mayor in 1934 (he eventually served three terms). It’s hard to imagine a more perfect piece of theater for the weeks preceding a hotly discussed presidential election. Just take a gander at the words in one of the musical’s many brilliant songs, “Politics & Poker,” in which lyricist Sheldon Harnick effortlessly rhymes that title’s card game with lines like “shuffle up the cards and find the joker,” “playing for a pot that’s mediocre,” or, from the second-act reprise — and most befitting of today’s economic climate — “everyone’s broke and getting broker.”

Harnick’s team included composer Jerry Bock (with whom he successfully partnered on a number of other projects, most notably Fiddler on the Roof), and book writers Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, who also directed the original 1959 production. The show had a healthy run of almost two years, but remains all but unknown today, perhaps because it was eclipsed by another musical that opened at the same time and achieved iconic status: The Sound of Music. The musicals shared the 1960 Best Musical Tony, but Fiorello! won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming the third of only seven musicals to have earned that honor.

No wonder Fiorello! racked up. Not only did it musicalize the story of a New York legend (how could Tony voters overlook that?), but it handled this task expertly. The creators wisely chose not to turn in a formulaic and-then-this-happened bio. Instead, they found heart and soul in big and small moments that would define a man — a politician, no less — who worked “on the side of angels” and believed in his country so much he set politics aside to fight in World War I. Bock and company surrounded him with vivid characters lucky enough to get tuneful songs like “Till Tomorrow,” “When Did I Fall in Love,” “I Love a Cop,” “The Very Next Man” and “Little Tin Box,” all guaranteed to remind you why you love musicals.

The same could be said of smart-looking and acted production, led by Lyric’s go-to director Cheryl Denson, with musical direction by Mark Stamper and choreography by Vickie Squires. The costumes, fitting and not distracting, are by Drenda Lewis, with lighting by Julie Moroney. The set, which changes easily for various scenes, was repurposed from a previous Lyric Stage design.

Former Dallas actor Brian Gonzales, now based in New York, was brought back for the title role, and honestly, there could not have been a better candidate. He not only fits the physical profile (Tom Bosley won a Tony for the part in 1960), but Gonzales attacks the role of a mover-and-shaker with gusto. He has a beautiful singing voice, but oddly enough, this musical gives all its best songs to satellite characters. Two of the best numbers, the aforementioned “Politics & Poker” and “Little Tin Box,” are handled by a perfectly harmonized male ensemble.

Other notable performances include Noelle Stanley as Marie, the woman who for many years harnesses her love for Fiorello, but eventually gets her wish; and Brian Patrick Hathaway as an Irish policeman named Floyd who becomes more involved in the political process. They’re both upstaged by the wondrously funny Megan Woodall as a not-as-dim-as-she-looks blonde, Dora. This is one of those performances that, had this production been on Broadway, would be a heavily favored for a featured performer Tony.

On the other side, Connie Kegg has the show’s most underwritten role of Fiorello’s first wife, Thea, and sadly, she doesn’t do much to overcome its shortcomings. She does sing “When Did I Fall in Love” skillfully, though. And then there’s Christine Cunningham, who has a big opportunity in a party scene as a performer named Mitzi, but her number, “Gentleman Jimmy,” is oddly stiff and lacking charisma.

Ultimately, Fiorello! deserves viewing because of its political themes, which are amazingly relevant to the country’s current situation. In the song “Little Tin Box,” certain men are being questioned about their extravagant spending in difficult financial times, purchasing yachts and Rolls Royces. That immediately brings to mind the AIG bigwigs who recently took a half-million dollar spa retreat right after being financially bailed out by taxpayers. And when another is accused of keeping “a dozen women in the very best hotels,” how could you not think of Eliot Spitzer?

Surprise surprise, political corruption is nothing new. And while it’s hard to tell if either current presidential candidate can manage something similar to what Fiorello H. LaGuardia did — lead Americans through the Great Depression — it’s safe to say there won’t ever be a smarter or more tuneful musical about politics.

The production runs through October 25 and tickets can be purchased online or by calling 972-252-2787.

Mark Lowry is a freelance writer based in Dallas who covered the North Texas theater scene for 10 years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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