| Juno |
| Written by Kevin Filipski | |||
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Juno Music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein Book by Joseph Stein, based on the play Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey Directed by Garry Hynes Conducted by Rob Berman Starring Victoria Clark, Conrad John Schuck New York City Center Performances March 27–30, 2008 nycitycenter.org  A scene from JUNO; photo by Joan Marcus The show has music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein, whose stage works also includes Regina and The Cradle Will Rock. (How about bringing those back?) Blitzstein and book writer Joseph Stein’s adaptation of Sean O’Casey’s 1924 play Juno and the Paycock never had a chance to become an audience-pleasing hit; it's a dark-humored tragicomedy about the denizens of a Dublin neighborhood, all touched by the continuing troubles between the IRA and the British. Needless to say, a musical that begins with the shooting of an Irishman by British troops had trouble finding an audience. The authors obviously had great affection for Casey’s characters. The plot revolves around the Boyle family: mother Juno (played with empathetic toughness in the Encores! production by the always amazing Victoria Clark); her husband, the drunken, lazy Captain John Boyle (a blustery and funny Conrad John Schuck); their son Johnny (Tyler Hanes, a terrific stage presence and dancer), who lost an arm while fighting; and daughter Mary (the vulnerable and touching Celia Keenan-Bolger), who wards off a local suitor but unluckily falls for Charlie Bentham, a visitor bringing news that the Captain’s uncle has died and left a considerable sum in his will. Concentrating on the interactions of these sharply drawn characters and their neighbors, Blitzstein’s songs are the emotional focus of the musical. Not surprisingly, the big ballads given to Juno (e.g., the closing “Lament”) and her daughter Mary (“I Wish It So”) are the high points of a show that, neverthelss, often feels like a mere outline for O’Casey’s infinitely richer play. The Encores! presentation does the authors proud. It brings together the aforementioned stellar actors, all of whom invest themselves so deeply in their roles that even their singing is colored by the right amount of brogue, with the crisp Encores! orchestra led by Eric Stern and Warren Carlyle’s clever choreography -- all under the direction of Garry Hynes, whose effective shaping of the material builds to a powerful final image in a reprise of the opening number, “We’re Alive.” If Juno does not live beyond its long Encores! weekend, at least we got the chance to hear this flawed but worthy show. {mos_ri}
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