Neva Small's Not Quite An Ingénue: Something More

As Neva Small discusses her musical theatre career in her autobiographical solo show Not Quite An Ingénue, she is clearly certain the role she's most known for is that of Tevye's youngest daughter, Chava, in the film version of Fiddler On The Roof.  That may be true to the rest of the country, but ask any self-respecting showtune aficionado and I'm willing to bet the first musical to come to mind when hearing the name Neva Small is Henry, Sweet Henry.  Though I wasn't quite of theater-going age in 1967 when the musical version of The World of Henry Orient played its brief stint at the Palace, the collector's item original cast album captures the 15-year-old actress's endearing vocals as she solos the charming "I Wonder How It Is To Dance With A Boy," her knack for deadpan humor in the Sandra Dee tribute "I'm Blue Too" and her gosh-darn musical comedy spunk as she and Robin Wilson belt out the title tune.

But alas, we don't hear a note from her largest and longest running Broadway musical role, for although she does pull out a copy of the Henry, Sweet Henry cast album moments after she enters from the back of the house cheerily singing "A Cockeyed Optimist," it's just a tease.  We do get a rousing medley of songs from Fiddler On The Roof, only one of which ("Matchmaker, Matchmaker") really featured her.

And that's the main trouble with Not Quite An Ingénue.  Though Small seems a perfectly sweet and capable performer, her career full of meaty roles in unsuccessful musicals is glossed over in such a pixie-ish, upbeat manner, as are her experiences balancing marriage and motherhood with a show-biz career, that you might find yourself perpetually wondering what she's leaving out.

Could there possibly be nothing to say about making your Broadway debut playing Barbara Cook's daughter in the legendary Jule Styne-directed flop, Something More?  Aren't there any interesting stories to come out of her experience playing opposite Robert Preston in The Prince of Grand Street, which closed in out of town previews?  Does she have anything to offer besides a "that's show biz" shrug regarding her decision to turn down Godspell in order to play the title role in F. Jasmine Adams, a musical version of The Member Of The Wedding, which also closed pre-Broadway.

What we do get is a 75-minute hodgepodge of fine songs, directed by Pamela Hall, linked together with a small amount of innocuous patter ("Did you know that Robert Merrill wrote 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window'?"…  "Everyone should have a favorite song, and this is mine.") that sounds carefully scripted and unnatural.

That favorite song of hers," My Funny Valentine," is performed with a highly affected attempt to sound torchy and another standard, "Tea For Two," (performed after a quick mention of her unsuccessful audition for the title role in the Broadway revival of No, No, Nanette) is reduced to a sleazy come-on that includes a scat section focusing on the word "oolong."  The title song, by Jay Kerr, seems a forced attempt at cuteness as duet with Small and a moppet-looking hand puppet.  At the performance I attended, she managed to keep her lips still while her partner sang for only the first half of the number.

Small fares much better when she isn't so apparently acting.  The bluesy lullaby "Peach Ice Cream," from F. Jasmine Adams, is given a warm and tender treatment and her Prince Of Grand Street ballad, "The Girl With Too Much Heart," has a touching sincerity.  Her defiantly belted "I Go On," from Leonard Bernstein's Mass, placed as an inspirational summation of her determination to get through life's disappointments, may be the vocal highlight of the evening but as with much of the show that precedes it, there's a lack of personal connection with both the material and the audience.  Though Neva Small certainly seems a lovely and likeable person as she talks with pride about her family ("My favorite role has been motherhood.") her vehicle lacks any kind of originality or intimacy, making it an oddly impersonal autobiography. 

Photos by Tina Fineberg  Caricature by Al Hirschfeld   

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