Review: A NEW BRAIN at Fuse Theatre Ensemble

At the beginning of A NEW BRAIN, now running at Fuse Theatre Ensemble, Gordon Michael Schwinn (played by Aidan Thurheimer-Nolan) is struggling to write a song for a frog. A few minutes later, he’s unconscious in a hospital bed after having collapsed during lunch. An MRI reveals an arteriovenous malformation in his brain, leading Gordon to question whether he’ll live long enough to write all of the music he has inside him.

This endearing and very quirky musical (there are songs titled “Craniotomy,” and “Poor, Unsuccessful, and Fat”), with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine, is based on Finn’s experience with his own arteriovenous malformation. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1998. The show is about art and creativity, and the renewal that can seemingly only come after a catastrophe like a near-death experience, but it’s also about the individual lives and beauty of the many people we come into contact with on a daily basis.

A NEW BRAIN was originally written as a revue, and that feeling remains. Rather than being plot-driven, the musical highlights Gordon’s inner thoughts along with the people surrounding him at this time. Some are in his inner circle – his mom (Bethany Ziskind), his boyfriend (Michael Hammerstrom), and his friend Rhoda (Sophia Veser); and several are associated with the hospital – the doctor (Andrew Poletto), orderlies (Kenzie Chapman and Magnolia Brown), and the minister (Sean Ryan Lamb). In the outer circle is Lisa (Jessica Tidd), a homeless woman who asks Gordon – and the audience – for “change,” and last but not least, there’s the frog, Mrs. Bungee (Landy Lamb) who appears as one of Gordon’s hallucinations.

Every character has at least one featured song and there are many ensemble numbers, which means that every member of the cast needs to be excellent, and they are. Thurheimer-Nolan brings a tender vulnerability, not to mention a gorgeous voice, to Gordon. Ziskind is very funny as Gordon’s overly controlling mother, and Tidd brings the house down with her solo, “Change.” There isn’t much scenery here (the set consists mostly of a piano and a wheelchair), but if there were, Landy Lamb would delightfully chew every last inch of it as the diabolical Mrs. Bungee.

The Back Door Theatre is a tiny space – there’s not room for much in the way of spectacle (or, presumably, budget - all of Fuse's shows are pay what you will). But Fuse constantly proves that you don’t need any of that to make great theatre. All you need is heart, and this show, directed by Sara King, has an abundance of it.

A NEW BRAIN runs through August 31. Details and tickets here.

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