The Pursuit of Persephone

After I wrote my review of the Original Cast Recording of Peter Mills' Illyria, I received the following email:

I think complaints about the Illyria CD are unfounded for anyone who has not seen the show. Peter Mills is arguably the best lyricist working today and any resemblance to a Wilhorn [sic] power ballad that 'You, Whoever You Are' has, is purely for comic effect. I would suggest Ms. Fox to review Mills' latest accomplishment, The Pursuit of Persephone, which runs only for the next two weeks (Thursday-Sunday) at the Connelly Theater in the East Village.

Now, while reviewing an OCR and reviewing a full show are completely different tasks, this sounded like a challenge, and never being one to turn down a challenge, I took the bait and got tickets to Persephone. And oh, my dear readers, I've never been so glad to be goaded. If Illyria started some murmurings in the theatre world of Mills' talent, we can consider this an official announcement: he has arrived, and he is a force to be reckoned with.

The story isn't exactly new: boy meets girl, boy gets girl, girl's mother disapproves, girl realizes that the very qualities she loves in boy are what make him unsuitable for her, boy loses girl. But in this case, the boy is the young man who will grow up to be legendary novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the girl is Ginevra King, his first love and muse. The musical follows Fitzgerald's years at Princeton University as he struggles with his love for Ginerva, his work with the famed Triangle theatre club, and the demands of his difficult classes. When push comes to shove, really, it's a story to which anyone who has struggled with love, art, or school can relate.

Illyria had a strong score with lovely music and decent lyrics. It had some weaknesses, but showed great promise. The score to Persephone keeps that promise, and then some. With brilliant lyrics that would have Cole Porter cheering (and not only because he is referenced by name and by style several times throughout) and music that evokes both the WWI era and the upcoming Jazz Age, this score can leave one giddy with joy and breathless with overwhelming emotion. There are six showstoppers in Act One alone, and five more in Act Two. It would be the most grievous of sins if this score were not preserved on a cast recording, especially with this brilliant cast.

Said cast, comprised of a healthy mix of Equity and amateur performers, could not be stronger. Chris Fuller, as the diamond-in-the-rough young Fitzgerald, is hilarious in his comic moments and heartbreaking in the dramatic ones, poignantly presenting the agony of young adulthood and the frustrations of genius not yet expressed. The exquisite Jessica Grové expertly captures the finely crafted façade of the young debutante Ginevra, and performs with painful vulnerability when the girl's mask cracks. Piper Goodeve, as the supporting romantic comedienne, conjures images of Andrea Martin/>/> with her flawless comic timing, and her awkward chemistry with David Abeles' smart and wry Edmund Wilson is utterly endearing. Benjamin Sands, as Fitzgerald's friend John Peale Bishop, performs beautifully with an abundance of emotion and intensity. (It is worth noting that neither Sands nor Abeles are members of Equity, if only because it is delightfully difficult to tell professional from amateur in this strong cast.) Co-author Cara Reichel's visually stunning direction uses every gesture and every word to express character and emotion, and her movements flow smoothly into Tesha Buss' era-appropriate choreography. Ms. Buss' dance arrangements also further the plot and develop the characters, a quality often lacking in many lesser musicals. Look for her star to rise alongside Mr. Mills'. Sidney Shannon's period costumes are magnificent, displaying not only the style of the age, but gently capturing the class differences between the characters.

Of course, as a new work, there are apt to be some problems, and Persephone has its share of rough edges that could be smoothed over before the next mounting. The book, by Mills and Reichel, suffers from some painfully awkward exposition, and the dialogue on occasion sounds like anvils falling. Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the musical is the most obvious and easily solved: throughout the show, Fitzgerald writes the Triangle Club's new musical, which he bases on his troubled relationship with Ginerva. Some scenes from the show-within-a-show (surprisingly also entitled The Pursuit of Persephone) comment on the action of the main story, but there are other scenes from Triangle shows that do not seem to comment on anything. These scenes are certainly funny, but not half as strong as they could be if they reflected more on the story. As Michael Dale/>/> pointed out, the Triangle scenes would serve the show better if they were more in the vein of the Emcee's songs in Cabaret.

But these rough edges don't detract from the overall brilliance of the work entire. This is the show New York has been waiting for: a genuinely intelligent, witty, clever, heartfelt, exciting and original musical. With the influx of jukebox and spectacle musicals currently making waves, it is all the more refreshing to find a thought-provoking gem like this, and all the more tragic that its run is so short. If there is any justice in this world, The Pursuit of Persephone will get an open run very, very soon. In the meantime, grab tickets for the remaining performances.

 

The Pursuit of Persephone runs until Sunday at the Connelly Theatre at 220 East 4^th Street. Call 212-352-3101 for tickets, or visit www.prospecttheater.org.

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