Spelunking is just not precisely a go-to topic for a musical. Yet Adam Guettel and Tina Landau noticed one thing in the true story of Floyd Collins, a cave explorer who famously obtained trapped underground for 2 weeks in 1925 in Kentucky, inflicting a media and tourism sensation. Together they turned this historic story right into a musical, “Floyd Collins,” which after initially premiering Off Broadway in 1996 is now lastly making its Broadway debut.
The very premise of the musical presents a number of logistical challenges in phrases of staging, pacing, and design. It could come as little shock that Landau, who wrote the guide and directs, got here up with the thought — as a director she has change into recognized for fixing, or at minimal embracing, theatrical puzzles and difficult-to-stage items like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Redwood.” Landau has a really clear tackle the musical, albeit not the one audiences may anticipate. Along with the design staff (primarily in the units by dots and lights by Scott Zielinski), Landau makes glorious use of the cavernous stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, although to not characterize caves in any literal approach. Instead, the design makes use of damaging house, shadow, and silhouette, creating some memorably lovely stage footage.
Most of the stage is a clean expanse, vaguely textured and earthen, stretching upstage to a low horizon — and Zielinski takes full benefit of a dangling scrim to create some breathtaking shows, particularly when Landau scatters the ensemble throughout the again wall, posing them into elegant tableaux. Other than dimmed lighting, there aren’t any scenic gestures that ever make us really feel like we’re in the caves or underground. Lincoln Center is thought for high-budget productions with mammoth units, however right here Landau has deliberately opted for a extra barren, minimalist strategy. While it’s exhausting to not yearn for that huge stage to be stuffed, her restraint is admirable, a directorial achievement that’s impactful and worthy of respect.
In distinction with the usually considerate use of house, the manufacturing is marred by a baffling design alternative. Jeremy Jordan, our titular hero, spends virtually your entire musical onstage, trapped by an invisible rock, oddly laying on what can solely be described as a barely-disguised lounge chair. Jordan turns into a distraction through the above-ground scenes, reclining along with his legs out on his perfectly-rectangular, deck chair-esque “rock” — although it’s maybe much more noticeable when he sometimes will get off it, highlighting the blocky, summary design.
Thankfully, a minimum of, the occupant of the chair offers us ample diversion. Though the position is barely underwritten, Jordan finds depth in Floyd, taking him on a journey from a hopeful and plucky explorer to a scared, determined, ravenous, lonely, and trapped man getting ready to each sanity and demise. His clarion tenor soars by way of his many solos and duets, delivering the spectacular vocals he has change into so recognized for.
He is restricted in phrases of scene companions, since as soon as he’s trapped the motion largely occurs above floor, the place his household, native farmers, and a big-shot industrialist (Sean Allan Krill) try and execute his rescue. Two key figures go down in the caves and are capable of converse (and sing) with Floyd: his brother Homer (Jason Gotay) and Skeets Miller (Taylor Trensch), a reporter despatched to cowl the story. Miller finally ends up deeply invested, befriending Floyd and dealing tirelessly by hand to dig him out whereas additionally sending off dispatches, writing tales, and even interviewing Floyd. Along with Jordan, Trensch is the guts of the musical, without delay keen and tender, delivering one of the best efficiency of his profession.
Trensch’s character is important to the musical, particularly in the much-stronger second half, in which Miller’s protection of Floyd’s predicament creates a media sensation. Tourists flock, distributors pop up, and the press swarm in, as everybody gathers in anticipation. This seems — spoiler alert from 1925 — to be a carnival of tragedy. After a lagging first act, the hullabaloo offers some much-needed stage enterprise; rigidity mounts when rescue efforts get extra concerned and Floyd’s scenario turns into extra dire. The buzz round Floyd was a significant historic occasion, and was even one of many first information tales broadcast on the radio. Landau and Guettel depict the media frenzy to supply questions concerning the influence of immediacy and publicity.
In his first tune, Floyd goals of discovering a terrific sand cave that folks will journey miles to see. Ironically, his dream comes true, however he’s unable to take pleasure in it, as he has change into the attraction himself. This is touchingly captured in an emotionally affecting dream ballet, with a twist on the finish assured to drag your heartstrings.
Landau’s guide is at occasions underbaked, with some characters underdeveloped and the pacing uneven. The rating, nevertheless, is certainly gorgeous: It’s Guettel (“The Light in the Piazza,” “Days of Wine and Roses”) in high type, advanced and layered, with a unified sound that gorgeously combines bluegrass instrumentation with wistful lyrics — notably in the songs “Through the Mountain” and “How Glory Goes.” Unexpectedly, although fairly becoming for the locale, the rating consists of fairly a little bit of yodelling, largely for Jordan. Not merely a gimmick, Guettel makes intelligent use of it, as when Floyd finds his subterranean grotto by yodeling to seek out echoes, finally making a musical rondo with himself.
Despite some scattered sturdy components, it’s exhausting to completely make sense of “Floyd Collins” or really feel that it actually works as a complete. The musical’s prelude, “The Ballad of Floyd Collins,” units up the musical as a parable, although the ethical isn’t ever actually outlined; the present doesn’t return to this concept in the finale or go away us with a transparent takeaway. So what’s the message? Is it about hubris, or humanity’s plundering of pure sources, or the commodification of tragedy by press and onlookers, or, because the musical’s publicity supplies declare, is it “a haunting exploration of the American dream”? There could also be treasure hidden deep in the cave that’s “Floyd Collins,” however it could simply be too darkish and troublesome to completely extract it.
