Review Roundup: THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE Opens at the Public

The Public Theater presents The Fortress of Solitude, a world premiere musical with a book by Itamar Moses, and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Conceived and directed by Daniel Aukin, The Fortress of Solitude runs through Sunday, November 2, with an official press opening tonight, October 22.

The complete cast of The Fortress of Solitude features Ken Barnett (Abraham Ebdus); Kyle Beltran (Mingus); Adam Chanler-Berat (Dylan); André de Shields (Senior); Carla Duren (Marilla); Rebecca Naomi Jones (Lala, Abby); Jahi Kearse (Raf, Henry, Desmond, Jared); Kevin Mambo (Junior); Malaiyka Reid (Swing); Noah Ricketts (Swing); David Rossmer (Arthur); Conor Ryan (Radio Guy, Mike, Gabe); Kristen Sieh (Rachel Ebdus); Britton Smith (Subtle Distinction); Brian Tyree Henry (Robert) Akron Watson (Subtle Distinction); Alison Whitehurst (Skater Girl, Liza); and Juson Williams (Subtle Distinction).

The Fortress of Solitude is the extraordinary coming-of-age story about 1970s Brooklyn and beyond - of black and white, soul and rap, block parties and blackouts, friendship and betrayal, comic books and 45s. And the story of what would happen if two teenagers obsessed with superheroes believed that maybe, just maybe, they could fly.

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

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: To its credit, the singing "Fortress" resourcefully juggles different time periods and cultures and characters of different ages without ever blurring those elements. But it does tend to remove their distinctive edges..."Fortress" doesn't betray the intentions of the novel that inspired it...It's no surprise that the score here is the strong point. It flows in undulating rivers of soul, funk, punk and rap, with harmonic clashes and convergences of all of the above that are Mr. Friedman's own. Why, then, does it so often feel underpowered?...The production as a whole feels hazy, and it seldom acquires the sweeping momentum that a show about time's tidal pull demands....I realize that telling even a part of Mr. Lethem's original story requires sacrifice of novelistic nuance. But one of the great things about musicals is that songs can make up for the emotional and narrative slack of skeletal books and dialogue. It's entirely possible that such fullness lies dormant in Mr. Friedman's score. As of now, it's still waiting for the equivalent of a magic ring to enable it to fly.

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: The musical timeline of "The Fortress of Solitude" is mid-1960s to late 1980s. But the theme of this blood-pumping, heart-thumping show -- the indestructible links that bind us to the old neighborhood -- is timeless. The story, from Jonathan Lethem's 2003 novel, views two boys from the same Brooklyn neighborhood who grow up as friends. At a critical moment in their lives, one leaves and the other one stays behind. Michael Friedman follows this friendship in a soaring score that keeps reinventing itself to reflect the turbulent social forces that change neighborhoods -- and friends -- beyond all recognition. Is there an audience for this extraordinary show? Yes. Is there a Broadway audience? Maybe not.

Adam Feldman, Time Out NY: Musical theater is not a form that gravitates toward the novel. Credit and respect are therefore due to Itamar Moses and Michael Friedman's The Fortress of Solitude, which is not only based on a substantial work of literature...but also takes the genre in brave new directions. Not that it avoids nostalgia: Our relationship to the past, and its presence in our lives, is one of the musical's central concerns, and Friedman's score draws excitingly on period sounds, especially 1970s soul...After the richness of the first half, the second, set years later, is drier...the portrait of the later Dylan seems underdeveloped for where the authors mean to take us. But if the middle plane could be better defined in this tapestry, the big picture is woven with beautiful threads.

Linda Winer, Newsday: Every so often, but not often enough, we stumble on a new musical that fills a need we didn't even know we had. "The Fortress of Solitude," despite the loneliness of the title, is an exuberant, altogether engrossing and moving socio-pop musical that may remind theatergoers of the way they felt when they first saw "Rent" and "In the Heights." This subtle yet outgoing show, conceived and seamlessly directed by Daniel Aukin...has a witty, sensitive book by Itamar Moses and a score by Michael Friedman ("Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson") that samples 25 years of hit soul, punk and hip-hop while managing to sound both original and authentic...Chanler-Berat and Beltran are wonderful as wary 12-year-olds who mature with sobering inevitability...There are many songs in many styles in a show that keeps us guessing about where it's going. Broadway, however, would seem to be a reasonable destination.

Robert Kahn, NBC New York: Racial tension, comic book superheroes and, more than anything, music provide texture in "The Fortress of Solitude," an absorbing new musical adapted from Jonathan Lethem's best-selling novel...Chanler-Berat ("Next to Normal," "Peter and the Starcatcher") has cornered the market on "nebbishy," and puts the trait to engaging use as a boy whose life is shaped by his friendship with both Mingus and Mingus's volatile dad, Barrett Rude Jr...Music -- its healing powers, and its ability to transport us to our own fortresses -- is the vein running through Lethem's 2003 novel...As such, Aukin, Friedman and librettist Itamar Moses ("Bach at Leipzig") have arrived here with new pop songs...Indeed, Friedman's tingly compositions evoke David Byrne, Pink Floyd and Run D.M.C. "Liner Notes," a tight second act segment, neatly summarizes Rude Jr.'s roller-coaster career...Moses's book stalls toward the conclusion...Still, the compositions and performances are top-notch, and as a character-study, "The Fortress of Solitude" is nearly as engaging as the last piece of theater I saw in this space, "Fun Home."

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: After 10 years in development, "The Fortress of Solitude" is nearly halfway there. Michael Friedman's pastiche-happy score for this adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's 2003 semi-autobiographical novel makes for a sturdy foundation...Friedman's songs provide the catchy and emotional backdrop...Like the novel, the musical juggles many plotlines. But author Itamar Moses, a fine playwright, and director Daniel Aukin, who conceived this show, can't find a focus. The story sprawls in unsatisfying fashion. Part of that comes because Dylan, endearingly played by Chanler-Berat, isn't all that compelling.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: "The Fortress of Solitude" relies so much on musical pastiche that at times it feels like an old K-Tel commercial, this one pitching "The Super Hits of '80s New York"...But a musical valentine to a lost era doesn't necessarily make an emotionally involving show...Friedman ("Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson") has a sure ear for pop, but his affectionate send-ups of iconic originals here seem like mere imitations...At least Daniel Aukin's staging is engaging and dynamic, especially during the musical numbers. Itamar Moses' book is less successful: heavy on exposition, light on emotion and with a gaping plot hole. It couldn't have been easy to adapt Lethem's novel, especially with its flights of fantasy involving the superhero-loving friends. But while we meet a lot of people, we rarely get to know them.

Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly: You can't fault the creators of The Fortress of Solitude, a stage musical version of Jonathan Lethem's 2003 doorstop of a novel, for a lack of ambition...Playwright Itamar Moses (Nobody Loves You, Boardwalk Empire) and composer Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) have jettisoned virtually nothing from Lethem's story completely, including the hints of homosexuality and the magic realism. That leaves a lot of plot to cram into a single 2 hour, 40 minute evening of theater -- and not much room for any storyline or character to really breathe or gain much depth...Friedman's score has some real standouts, particularly his pastiches of '60s soul and R&B...But a surprising number of his tunes are over just as they seem to get going...There is a lot of promise in The Fortress of Solitude, and some individual moments that suggest how a more streamlined storytelling approach might have elevated the material. But you may leave the Public Theater less impressed than exhausted. Speed-reading a thick tome in a single sitting can have that effect. B

Robert Hofler, The Wrap: Lethem's 2003 bestseller presents a remarkable panorama of Brooklyn in its transformation from slum to gentrified neighborhood. It's a sprawling novel, and not an easy one to adapt to the stage. But turning "Fortress" into a musical does give its creative team the opportunity to let us hear the music that allows the young hero Dylan (Chanler-Berat) to escape the harsh realities of Brooklyn. A few years ago, songwriter Michael Friedman created a fun trunk load of pastiche songs for the send-up musical "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," and his knack for replicating a panoply of musical genres -- gospel, funk, R&B, rap -- gets a full workout in "Fortress"...A few of Friedman's catchy tunes are real keepers, especially those whose lyrics don't overreach with too much exposition. But missing in Itamar Moses' book and especially Daniel Aukin's direction is the meanness as well as the creative energy of 1970's Brooklyn...The grit's not there, and the fantasy completely misfires.

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Photo Credit: Doug Hamilton