BWW Reviews: Fringe 2010 Review - PLATINUM

70's nostalgia is no slouch market. But I couldn't help feeling like Platinum (the newly revised 1978 musical) at the Fringe didn't really capitalize on that.

Platinum (book by Bruce Vilanch and Will Holt, music by Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Will Holt) played 33 performances on Broadway in 1978, and returned for an even shorter-lived revival in 1983. One might wonder what it's still doing kicking around, but you have to hand it to these guys (and director Ben West) for their perseverance. And the score is arguably worth saving, if not exactly fighting for.

The new Platinum now takes place in 1976, the year the recording industry began using its "platinum" certification, adding an extra competitive edge to the already cutthroat business. Record producer Jeff Rollins (Bruce Sabath) has decided to give aging singer and film superstar, Lila Halliday (Donna Bullock) a chance to renew her career after previous failures at a comeback. Rollins is also managing Crystal Mason (Sarah Litzinger), a young, fresh, up-and-coming pop star, and Dan Riley (Jay Wilkison), the frontman of a popular band who has hit a creative roadblock and is unsure of his artistic future. Rollins is assisted by Jamie (Wayne Wilcox), an idealistic composer and lyricist who is trying to get his boss to take interest in his work.

I can't say I saw the original Platinum, but it had 8 additional characters, a handful more songs and was two full acts. This new Platinum gets away all right with only five characters and has two new songs, but the result of the reduction seems like the creators might have streamlined too much. The stakes of the story don't rise until about halfway through, and by the time they do, the setup has drawn on too long, and there's not much time left to flesh out anything that might potentially be interesting.

The characters could use to be fleshed out much more; right now they seem to have been reduced only to sketches, and even the cast of always-dependable actors can't completely save them from this – though they'd probably have been much worse off in less-capable hands. Bruce Sabath, best known for his work as the sweet, somewhat lost Larry in the 2007 revival of Company, is underused as the record producer with an unpredictable temper. Wayne Wilcox probably makes the most of his charming character, but he's often sidelined to the romantic plot, and has a nice number with Sarah Litzinger, but I'm not sure I can buy her as a sensational pop artist. Bullock captures the predicament of Halliday's career with poise and appropriate anguish, but even the lead character falls victim to the lack of substance underneath.

The score, if worth saving, could work. Featuring songs that sound like they could be heard on the radio, catchy tunes and varied styles, it could have used a little more flail than just a piano, but the talented musician still gave a great feel for how it might be fully realized. If the show were built up more around the score, it might have a fighting chance. And let's face it – it's 1976; amp up the camp factor, that's bound to help, too. Not to say it needs to become a comedy or a joke, but only the costumes seemed to acknowledge a hint of that integral part of said 70's nostalgia. From what I could tell, the writers want the story to be taken quite seriously, it's one of intensity and pain – but for that, it's going to need to be better rounded, and a few more laughs wouldn't hurt either. 

 

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