Review Roundup: Encores! Off-Center's A NEW BRAIN Opens at City Center

Jenni Barber, Quentin Earl Darrington, Bradley Dean, Dan Fogler, Ana Gasteyer, Josh Lamon, Aaron Lazar, Alyse Alan Louis and Rema Webb join Jonathan Groff in the Encores! Off-Center production of William Finn and James Lapine's A New Brain, running through June 27, 2015. The production is directed by James Lapine, with choreography by Josh Prince.

A New Brain, inspired by William Finn's personal experiences, is a medical tragedy seen through the iris of a Looney Tunes short. After struggling composer Gordon Michael Schwinn (Jonathan Groff) collapses face-first into a plate of spaghetti, he is diagnosed with a brain tumor and is forced to come to terms with his creative ambitions and the lovable screw-ups in his life: an overbearing mother (Ana Gasteyer), a ruthless kiddie-show host (Dan Fogler), and a boyfriend who'd "rather be sailing" (Aaron Lazar). The musical opened at Lincoln Center Theater on June 18, 1998 and ran for 78 performances, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld: Jonathan Groff has a pleasant presence and a sweet singing voice, but lacks the acerbic wryness and neurotic anxiety that makes Gordon interesting. Conversely, Ana Gasteyer is a knockout right from the get-go as his single mom, who flaunts her survival from an abusive marriage with style and sophistication. From her barrelhouse entrance to her stunning performance of a dramatic ballad where she anticipates Gordon's death (a rare mother/son torch song) Gasteyer is thoroughly captivating, intelligent and entertaining...Made up more of episodes than a strong storyline, A New Brain tends to start floundering a bit midway through...But the individual pieces of A New Brain add up to smart and original musical theatre; and that's the kind of change we can always appreciate.

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: Mr. Groff's air of troubled sensitivity is an automatic asset in a show about an embattled young composer in the shadow of death. And this actor also has a chance to demonstrate some of the playful wit he will no doubt be bringing to his performance as an embattled British king in the shadow of the American Revolution in the exciting musical "Hamilton," which begins Broadway previews next month...Given an attractively abstract, shadow-filled production directed by Mr. Lapine, the show remains, as it was, what is essentially one long, harmonious thank-you note for second chances in life...performed with conviction by a cast that also includes Ana Gasteyer, who gives an engagingly unforced performance as Mimi, Gordon's dominating mother, and Aaron Lazar (looking like a Brooks Brothers ad) as Roger, his sailboat-obsessed lover...as these various voices clash and meld, a very specific and surprisingly complete family portrait emerges. Both eccentrically individual and universal, these songs evoke the original, piquant talent of a composer whose singular style otherwise feels strangely absent.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: This quirky and intensely personal 90-minute work about Finn's own life-and-death medical crisis is practically sung-through. A few musical gems pop up in a score chockablock with character-driven songs, novelty numbers, pretty ballads and unexpected, grin-inducing rhymes ("elbow/hell no"). On the other hand, this "Brain" could use more heart. Maybe Finn, who co-wrote the book with director James Lapine, is too close to the material. But there's an almost clinical detachment toward the characters...But the show rises or falls on Gordon. And Groff brings empathy, confidence and ease. Those are also hallmarks of his work in "Spring Awakening" and the HBO series "Looking." Playing a composer who's determined to make his mark, the 30-year-old star leaves yet another one.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: Finn is an idiosyncratic lyricist/composer with a unique gift for nakedly emotional songs - it's hard not to battle tears during Mimi's "The Music Still Plays On," when she thinks her son may not make it. He also writes gorgeous multipart numbers for the ensemble, such as the evocative "Sitting Becalmed in the Lee of Cuttyhunk."...Other parts of the show haven't aged nearly as well, like the grating childlike vibe associated with Mr. Bungee - through no fault of Fogler's, who was also great in Finn's hit show "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."...Though the musical is uneven, Groff effortlessly keeps the production together with his supple voice and low-key charm. Here's to "Brain," then - and heart.

Jesse Green, Vulture: ...Finn is not just indulgent, but a kind of patron saint of indulgences: He valorizes the vulgar and deliberately violative, and turns that into an aesthetic. When the aesthetic matches the material he's hugely successful...it suffers a bit from an unwillingness to prune away some of its revue-form roots: There are too many songs and, especially, too many wrap-it-up songs at the end. But the miracle is that the show is nevertheless terribly moving, making excellent use of what can, in other contexts...directed swiftly and simply by Lapine and cast nearly to perfection. Jonathan Groff, playing against type as Gordon, is such a naturally sympathetic performer that even the character's most off-putting qualities do not put you off... Other vocal standouts include Ana Gasteyer as Gordon's mother, rock solid as a woman all but falling apart, and Rema Webb as the bag lady, belting those extraneous songs.

Matt Windman, amNY: The unpredictable, often catchy score alternates between madcap, hallucinatory production numbers and gorgeous, tender ballads...the musical plows ahead without pause for 100 minutes and giddily sweeps the audience along...Groff...brings a sensitive aura and sings beautifully, but he glosses over Gordon's overanxious and uneasy personality.Gasteyer is in superb form as Gordon's volatile mother. Rema Webb is also terrific as a homeless woman who stops the show with one of the musical's most clever and overtly political songs.

Photo by Joan Marcus

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