BWW Reviews: THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE Sings of Gentrification, White Privilege and Superman

"Everybody singin' a different song / But if they all fit together then it can't be wrong," sings a naively idealistic mother shortly before we see her abandon her husband and son.

It's Gowanus, Brooklyn in 1975 and Rachel (Kristen Sieh) has moved her family here from California, convinced that white people like them can gentrify the predominantly black neighborhood into "another Berkeley."

Eventually, when the setting of Itamar Moses (book) and Michael Friedman's (score) provocative and ambitious new musical, The Fortress of Solitude, jumps twenty years, a character quips, "Goodbye, Gowanus. Hello, Boerum Hill." Whether or not this is a good thing may depend on the opportunities life offers you.

Based on Jonathan Lethem's 2003 novel, the musical revolves around Rachel's son Dylan (Adam Chanler-Berat), named for the former Robert Zimmerman. (Chanler-Berat and many other cast members play their roles as both adolescents and adults.) As one of the only white kids in his neighborhood, making him a target for harassment, Dylan finds comfort in the collection of vinyl albums she left behind. While his reclusive father (Ken Barnett), an avant-garde artist who earns a paycheck painting sci-fi book covers, works in the attic, Dylan listens to Nina Simone, The Mamas and The Papas, Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones and, the artist he's most enamored with, Barrett Rude, Jr. (Kevin Mambo).

The lead singer of a soul harmony group, The Subtle Distinctions, Rude spent his career on the brink of stardom without ever claiming a spot on the A-list. Coincidentally, it's Rude's son, Mingus (Kyle Beltran), named for the jazz bassist, who befriends Dylan to keep him from getting picked on by a bully.

The two boys bond over their love for super hero comics, fantasizing of the day when, like Superman, they can each fly to their own fortress of solitude; a place where they can freely be themselves. For Mingus, that means being an artist, and he introduces Dylan to his world of graffiti tagging.

Through their friendship we see the smart and talkative Dylan's ignorance of the advantages of his skin color and, despite Beltran's sweet, innocent appearance, Mingus' knowledge of the limitations of his own skin. When Dylan gets accepted by a better school and suggests to Mingus that he apply, Beltran's quiet dismissal of the idea signals his understanding of the different ways their worlds work. When a white woman sees the two together and assumes that Mingus is a threat to Dylan, the black kid gets it while the white kid is confused.

As Rachel sings at the outset, everyone is singing a different song in Friedman's score, captivating musical collage of styles including funk, soul, folk, hip-hop, gospel and punk. As the coke-addicted, disillusioned Rude, Mambo is a sullen presence at first, but transforms into a slick, charismatic entertainer in a sensational second act musical sequence that traces the rise and fall of The Subtle Distinctions. (Britton Smith, Akron Watson and Juson Williams providing tight harmonies while performing Camille A. Brown's precision choreography.) Also outstanding is a hip-hop sequence explaining Mingus' troubled adulthood. Andre de Sheilds makes a brief, but memorable musical appearance as Mingus' grandfather, an intimidating preacher fresh out of jail.

Director Daniel Aukin's vibrant production is lively and entertaining without missing a step of the musical's exploration of the racial tension caused by gentrification and white privilege.

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