A Fine and Private Place: Who Says Romance Is Dead?

There are three minutes of sublime theatrical bliss to be savored and adored at the York Theatre's production of A Fine and Private Place. They occur early in Act II when Christiane Noll, playing a woman who has just received the wrong response after saying, "I love you", is left alone on stage to consider her future. After a quiet musical intro, Noll releases some of the softest, purest tones to be heard on a New York stage this season. Unamplified in the tiny theatre, singing a lovely melody about accepting what cannot be changed, she emotes with mesmerizing simplicity, her voice so airy, yet fully supported, an audience member might mistake her gorgeous tones for their own internal thoughts.

That isn't to say there aren't more lovely moments to be enjoyed in Richard Isen (music) and Erik Haagensen's (book and lyrics) charming and romantic musical fantasy, based on the book by Peter S. Beagle. Although there are awkward moments and slow passages that keep this intimate show from being truly satisfying, director Gabriel Barre has mounted a well-acted, nicely sung and visually imaginative production that keeps the material's better qualities in the forefront.

The story takes place in "Yorkchester Cemetery", meant to suggest Woodlawn in the Bronx.  James Morgan's set, Jeff Croiter's lights and Scott De la Cruz's projections create a dreamy, fantasy representation of various locations on its landscape, with light scrims in green shades giving the impression of leafy tree branches roofing the surroundings. It's exceptional design work executed with the kind of taste and artfulness that puts many large-budgeted musicals to shame.

We begin with Jonathan Rebeck (Joseph Kolinski), one of those New York eccentrics that seem so much more loveable on stage than in real life. Jonathan has been living in one of Yorkchester's mausoleums for years, never leaving the grounds nor having contact with other humans. He does have a rather active social life, though. There's a wisecracking raven (Barre) that brings him daily meals by stealing bags of fast food. And there's also each recently deceased who is buried on the grounds. It seems Jonathan can communicate with those who are newly dead and has designated himself as a sort of guidance counselor, helping them to grow accustomed to their new surrounding. He tells Michael (Glenn Steven Allen), a brand new ghost who died in his mid-thirties, that he'll remain at the cemetery until he has grown to honestly face himself (that takes about 3-4 weeks, apparently), after which he will go off to "somewhere" and no longer be visible or audible to any Jonathan.

Laura (Noll) is another newly buried in her 30's, disappointed that she died before having a chance to really live. There is an immediate attraction between her and Michael, but he's hiding something about the circumstances surrounding his death and is afraid of her getting to close to him, forcing him face himself and thus go on to that unknown place.

Meanwhile, the widow Gertrude (Evalyn Baron), who visits her late husband's mausoleum regularly, has caught Jonathan off guard (his first human contact in 20 years) and is trying to strike up a friendship. When she learns of his unusual lifestyle, she offers her husband's clothes and even the key to his mausoleum, which she promises to fix up nicely to be his new home. Though Jonathan is grateful for her companionship, at a distance, he rejects the idea of emerging himself back into the outside world, especially with Gertrude displacing her longings for her husband upon him.

On the surface, Isen's music is light and pretty and Haagensen's lyrics are pleasant enough, but the score lacks depth. This is a story about the human need to connect to a partner, a highly emotional subject, but the melodies lack variety and the lyrics tell the surface story without much digging into the souls of the characters. The book's jokes about Donald Trump, Dunkin' Donuts and the like undercut the romantic atmosphere, and though Barre is rather fun to watch as the raven and delivers his wisecracks well, the character is so obviously there solely for the sake of throwing out gag lines that his presence becomes a bit of an annoyance.

Allen and Noll make for an attractive and well-sung couple, playing their scenes with warmth and sincerity. Costume designer Pamela Scofield dresses them in shades of green which help their bodies blend in with the surroundings. Baron is also quite tender and sympathetic as the lonely Gertrude, though I imagine her rather hollow singing voice has seen better days. Kolinski is comical and hearty in the underwritten role of Jonathan. The script can use more exploration of the reasons he became a recluse and his preference for short-term relationships with the dead over meaningful connections with humans.

Despite it's flaws, A Fine and Private Place is an admirably ambitious piece with a lot to offer audiences. Perhaps future revisions will help the material truly soar, but for now the York's production contains enough charms to delight many lovers of intimate, romantic musicals.

Photos by Carol Rosegg: Top: Christiane Noll and Glenn Steven Allen

Center: Joseph Kolinski and Evalyn Baron

Bottom: (above) Gabriel Barre, (l-r) Evalyn Baron, Christiane Noll, Joseph Kolinski and Glenn Steven Allen