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Who needs escapism?
In a particularly turbulent election year, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera embraced extreme timeliness with a double bill of 1931’s “Of Thee I Sing” and its 1933 sequel “Let ’Em Eat Cake,” both musical satires about presidential elections with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. This one-night-only staged reading, directed by Gil Rose, presented the two Gershwin musicals in abridged form. The mountain of source material made for a bit of a taxing watch, but the acting and directing were both accomplished well.
When it comes to content, “Of Thee I Sing” seems escapist — it portrays a world where the vice presidential candidate does not matter, and where true love snaps into place in a single song — assisted by delicious corn muffins. Meanwhile, “Let ’Em Eat Cake” seems unfortunately realistic, portraying a world where the president loses re-election and his followers storm the capital. Then again, the second act mostly concerns a baseball game between Supreme Court justices and the League of Nations, so there’s still plenty of satirical whimsy.
Unfortunately, even in their cut-down versions, trying to perform these two musicals in a single night creates a mammoth of a performance. The total show clocked in at a little over three hours, and by the end the sheer scope of the production was wearying. The actors laudably maintained high energy despite what one can only imagine was an intensely tiring show. The scope also seemed to hurt the show when it came to the synchronicity of the orchestra and singers — the singers were out of time with the orchestra several times. The chorus, while they sounded lovely, were sometimes difficult to understand. Thankfully, the performances of several of the lead actors made for a compelling watch, even as the material began to buckle under its own weight.
Aaron Engebreth, who played President John P. Wintergreen, captured the charisma and confidence necessary for a platformless candidate to run for the nation’s highest office. Even when he becomes dictator, Engebreth convinces one to root for him. The standout performances undoubtably came from Abigail Paschke and Neal Ferreira, who played Diana Devereaux/Trixie Flynn and the French Ambassador/Comrade Kruger respectively. Paschke and Ferreira portrayed each character — one in each musical — with ridiculous physicality and accents that summoned laughs from the audience at each of their appearances. Paschke, in particular, did an excellent job of balancing the exaggerated speaking voice of her characters while also singing beautifully.
The staging, while limited, made good use of New England Conservatory’s beautiful Jordan Hall. Each scene took place at the very front of the stage and utilized space strategically — using the divide of the conductor’s podium to represent a difference in location between stage left and right. Furthermore, several small comedic moments made for some visual excitement, such as the Supreme Court justices popping out of formation like whack-a-moles. Much to one’s delight, there were even a couple short choreographed sequences during numbers like “Love is Sweeping the Country.” These moments both paid sweet homage to these shows’s more theatrical roots while also showcasing the wonderful instrumental music of the dance break.
Everything felt aesthetically appropriate for the occasion, starting with the projected red, white, and blue stars, courtesy of lighting designer Chris Ostrum. Costume designer Brooke Stenton adorned the chorus in blue and red hats that would be periodically switched out for other headgear when playing news reporters. The leads’s costumes were all spiffy — the men looked dapper in suits of various hues. Mary Turner and Diana Devereaux wore the most exciting pieces, albeit in diverging styles: Mary’s outfits captured First-Lady-Fashion with sensible capelets and cardigans, while Diana’s ridiculous pageant dress and tiara conveyed the over-the-top nature of her character.
On a phenomenological level, a double header of these shows is deeply exciting. Their relevance to this particular moment in history alone provides reason to put them on. However, on a different level, these two shows are interesting for their contrasting receptions. “Of Thee I Sing” was a huge box office success. On top of that, it was the first musical to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, representing a serious victory for the perceived dignity of musical theater as an art form. Meanwhile, “Let ’Em Eat Cake” ran for only 89 performances and promptly fell into obscurity.
There are a variety of explanations for why this could have happened: a sequel’s fundamental incompatibility with the format of musical theater, the onset of the Great Depression, or just the darker tone of “Let ’Em Eat Cake.” By presenting the musicals together, it’s easier to see whether the moment or the material led to its downfall (plot twist: It was probably both). Turning a charming, if self-satisfied, main character into an egotistical dictator might have soured the Broadway audiences in 1933 who did manage to remember the plot of the first musical — which is to say nothing of those who didn’t.
Even if it makes sense to present these shows in a single package theoretically, the practical presentation suffered from a noticeably long runtime. That being said, the cast and team created an enjoyable night out — just one that might have fared better as two.
“Gershwin Brothers’ Two Political Satire Musicals in Concert” ran at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall on Oct. 12.
—Staff writer Ria S. Cuéllar-Koh can be reached at ria.cuellarkoh@thecrimson.com.
