Review: THE FITZGERALDS OF ST. PAUL at Irish Classical Theatre

Witty, smart and heartbreaking. That about sums up the new musical THE FITZGERALDS OF ST. PAUL now playing as  a preview production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company.

It's rare these days to have Buffalo in on the ground floor of a burgeoning new work with sights on Broadway. Not since the years of Studio Arena Theatre has a production started in Buffalo before landing on the Great White Way.

Artistic Director of Irish Classical, Keelie A Sheridan, has smartly programmed this 90 minute musical based on the lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald ( Scott spend 10 years of his childhood in Buffalo). The relationship of this married couple was starry, rocky and full of alcohol.

With a book, lyrics and score by Christie Baugher, this show has been in evolution for over 7 years, having been developed as part of the Irons in the Fire Line Theatre in New York City. Powerhouse women like Baugher are becoming more common, thinking of the present Broadway musical SUFFS, with book, lyrics and score by Shaina Taub. Taub won 2024 TONY Awards for both her her score and book.

Baugher's score harkens back to both  the Jazz Age that figured so prominently in Fitzgerald's works and the  Princess Musicals of the early 1900's, composed by  Jerome Kern. These intimate shows, often starting with boy meets girl, allowed young talents to flourish on small budgets. Baugher's  jaunty score is  fully accessible, with sophisticated lyrics that can be comic and droll (obviously influenced by Fitzgerald's own writing and composer/lyricists like Cole Porter).

The story begins with the winsome barefoot  young Zelda breezing about the stage in flowing white skirt and blouse, as carefree as a wealthy debutante should be. A young soldier (F. Scott) bursts in to sweep her off her feet, a coy dance of boys meets girl ensues , and soon the two are madly in love. Love happened fast in 1917!  We soon learn of the struggles of the young author, who enjoys alcohol too much and his socialite new bride who is prone to lapses in mental judgement and reality  (Zelda suffered from schizophrenia).

The class struggle between the two families puts a strain on the couple, and they set off on travels  around the globe. A new baby arrives, but doesn't slow their drive for a party lifestyle full of booze and excesses. F. Scott, offered referred to as "goofo" or "Scottie" by his wife, does his level best to appease his wife's behaviors, but his own demons get the best of him.  As Fitzgerald becomes a celebrated novelist with novel "This Side of Paradise", the couple spends all his newfound  money faster than it comes in. But his career soon slackens and the funds dry up.  His best known novel "The Great Gatsby" was not the instant hit that people assume. His brilliance was more realized after his early death in 1940 at the age of 44 due to a heart attack brought on by his playboy lifestyle. Zelda  was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital, and would tragically die at the age of 47 in a fire at the hospital.

Jewell Wilson Bridges has come to town to play Scottie and shines instantly on his entrance. Wide eyed and energetic,  Bridges embodies youthful young love and optimism. His crystal clear tenor voice embraces Baugher's score with  ease, reminiscent of those throaty tenors with a quick vibrato. Bridges inhabits the role with a conviction that only comes with expert preparation.

Shannon O'Boyle is Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald.  O'Boyle has been working on this role as it has evolved from it's earliest stages, and the role fits her like a glove. Zelda is a combination of a girl who lives life too large and a woman who battles demons found only in her own mind. O'Boyle is utterly charming in the game of  cat and mouse  she plays, teasing yet  encouraging the young author. Her voice is effortless and can be brassy and breezy, perfectly in synch with the time period and Baugher's often wordy lyrics.

When  Bridges and O'Boyle play off of each other, the chemistry is palpable. They twirl and spin, kiss and bicker, while taking full advantage of the thrust stage. Costume pieces are pulled from a rack onstage.  A series of steamer trunks and suitcases piled high becomes  the furniture on which they lounge, the bars that flow endlessly with every type of cocktail, and the fast cars they speed through life in. A fabulous traveling song  ("Oopsy-Daisy") sets up their devil-may-care attitude as the two tour around the world, but one of Zelda's hallucinations causes a near death accident.

Director- Choreographer Danny Mefford has been attached to this project for years, and is best known for his choreography on the Broadway productions of  the recent hits KIMBERLY AKIMBO and DEAR EVAN HANSEN . Mefford's dance background provides a fluidity of movement around the vast stage, and capitalizes on the fast past paced lives of our characters. But his finer touches of playful and intimate movements are also  brilliantly captured.

A co-dependent relationship has it's benefits, but also leaves little room for escape. Zelda accuses Scottie of a homosexual affair  with Ernest Hemingway (which was never substantiated). Scottie grows weary of Zelda's' behavior and  in an attempt to make money writes short stories for the Saturday Evening Post and writes a stage play, which bombs.  The couple separate at their lowest point, with a lame attempt at re-uniting.

The compact one act format of this two handed musical ensures the relationship stays in the forefront, with little chance for escape. Even when one character is front and center, the other lurks in the background. The struggles with any 2 character play lie in the inevitable sameness of just 2 actors. Without a secondary plot line  or chorus, the overall story  may benefit from  trimming a bit or breaking the action up into two acts, giving the audience a breather to take in the all  of the positives and negatives of this fascinating marriage.

The tight 3 piece onstage combo is led by Music Director Bridget Moriarty, with slick orchestrations by Frank Galgano and Matt Castle. Plans have been announced for a concept recording to be made in early 2025 with members of this cast and other Broadway stars, including Santino Fontana. That recording will have a 12 piece orchestra.

The cast and creative team here are all of the highest caliber and such a successful first staging portends well for the future of this alluring new musical. Catch THE FITZGERALDS OF ST. PAUL before it moves onward, and hopefully upward.

 

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