21 Stories
By: Jena Tesse Fox Jul. 23, 2005
If nothing else, one must certainly admire the unabashed heart of GW Stevens' 21 Stories. This show, rather than 42nd Street, should lay claim to the tagline "The Musical for People who Love Musicals." Filled with loving looks back at a bygone era of big, splashy, glamourous musicals, 21 Stories is an alternately poignant, delightful, and awkward fable about the allure of New York, the love of art, and the golden dream of Broadway.
The show follows two archetypal characters who come to New York from afar for very different reasons, but connect through their love of music, musicals, and each other. As the years pass and their dreams fail to materialize, they experience the gritty truths that lie beneath the glamourous surface of the city, the real struggles through which all artists must suffer, and some of the definitive musicals of the 1980's and '90's.
These musicals become the true highlights of the show, with many excerpts from shows like Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, and Annie performed by the dazzling ensemble to brighten up the dull lives of the two protagonists... and the show as well. For good-hearted though it may be, as familiar as these new New Yorkers and their adventures might be, the show itself is rather depressingly morose, not to mention full of head-scratching plot holes. For example, I didn't realize that one can rent an apartment (sans roommate, apparently) in a 21-story high-rise on a store clerk's salary. Nor did I know that people in the 1990's were still referring to AIDS as "The Gay Plague." Sometimes theatrical leaps in logic can be excused in the name of dramatic effect. These ones only serve as distractions from the genuine pathos of the characters' tragic situations.Fortunately, the show is lifted above its dark and somewhat awkward book by the brilliant recreations of great moments from great musicals, courtesy of Frit and Frat Fuller's amazing choreography, evoking Jerome Robbins, Michael Bennett, Gillian Lynne, and Gower Champion. The fantastical musical moments serve as beacons in the darkness for both the characters and the audience, providing lovely respites from the depression. Were the script a little bit lighter and tighter, it could strike a more perfect balance with the musical moments. Mr. Stevens' performance as the young Englishman obsessed with Broadway musicals is energetic and charming, if a leaning somewhat towards melodrama. Marilyn Rising likewise finds poignancy and depth as the young Texan pianist in search of her father and herself. Michael Berry's staging nicely captures both the congested New York streets and the dreamworlds of the musicals.
One cannot help but be impressed by the enthusiasm of 21 Stories, and if the script isn't fully up to the intentions, it easily could be with a very few revisions. Until then, the musical excerpts in the show are some of the most joyous celebrations of musical theatre to be found.
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