Today is Sunday, and this week’s Report contains my abbreviated notes on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Public Theater. Plus, a quote of the week; select press announcements from the past week; and the upcoming week’s previews and openings. Note: I am in the midst of writing a new book, so my notes on this fall’s productions are likely to be uncharacteristically brief.

---

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The lyric, by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, for “A Little Brains – A Little Talent,” from the 1955 musical Damn Yankees.

I took the zing out of the King of Siam.
I took the starch out of the sails
Of the Prince of Wales.
It’s no great art gettin’ the heart of a man
On a silver platter;
A little brains – a little talent,
With an emphasis on the latter!

I made mince-meat out of a sweet young farmer.
I knocked the fight out of a knight
When I pierced his armor.
And I’ll bet I can upset every male
In a Yale Regatta.
A little brains – a little talent,
With an emphasis on the latta!

You gotta know just what to say and how to say it.
You gotta know what game to play and how to play it.
You gotta stack those decks with a couple-a extra aces.
And this queen has her aces,
In all the right places!

I’ve done much more than that old bore, Delilah.
I took the curl out of the hair of a millionaire.
There’s no trick gettin’ some hick who is cool
Just a little warmer;
A little talent – a little brains,
With an emphasis on the former!

Split up a home way up in Nome, Alaska.
And wrecked the life of every wife
Down in Madagascar.
Ask me why weak men’ll die for me,
Strong men simply shatter;
A little brains – a little talent,
With an emphasis on the latter!

You gotta know just what to do and how to do it.
You gotta know what tea to brew and how to brew it.
You’ve seen the sign that says,
“George Washington once slept here.”
Well, though nobody spied him,
Guess who was beside him?

Bring on that boy, he’ll be a toy to Lola;
Just one more case she can erase with that old Boffola.
What’s my plan? Same as with any man,
I’ll use the standard patter,
Plus a little this-a – and a little that-a,
With an emphasis on the – on the latter!

---

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON AT THE PUBLIC THEATER

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a new musical loosely based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, recently opened an Off-Broadway engagement at the Public Theater, after previously having been seen, not by me, overseas. It has a book, lyrics, direction, and scenic design by Jethro Compton, who originally produced the piece, and lyrics and music by Darren Clark, and it is terribly, terribly poor.

The first light cue, after the house and stage go to black, is premature, and the remaining light cues are indistinct. The narration is incessant, leaving almost nothing in the way of dramatic action. The assignment of narration is haphazard. The gender-blind distribution of side characters is ridiculous, arbitrary, and, like the vast majority of the rest of the musical, unclever and uninventive. The principal characters are undeveloped and almost never allowed to relate, to converse, to make a discovery, or to express themselves, with almost every potential moment of the sort being abandoned, by the authors, before it has even had a chance to form, let alone establish. (Compton and Clark have succeeded in amassing a mountain of missed opportunities!) The relationships between the principal characters are, as such, similarly undeveloped, to the point of being nonexistent. And no palpable sense of comradery or playfulness or kinship has been cultivated among the company as storytellers.

The theme of time is driven into the ground. The accounting of time, in the narration, is disruptive and insufferable. “The Tide is Comin’ In,” built upon a sandcastle metaphor, is heavy-handed. “The Moon and the Sea” and “When E’re She Looked at Me” are familiar – and valuable – narrative devices that have been given a painfully obvious treatment, and so is a split-stage scene, with overlapping lines, involving Benjamin, Elowen, and one parent each. “A Little Life” is flagrant. And the aging of Benjamin is intermittently confused. (He, of his own volition, smokes a pipe the day he is born, but he has never had a beer?)

The physical staging is amorphous, purposeless. Two separate exits during two separate party scenes are absurd. The downstage line formed for Benjamin’s initial reveal is rough. The two moments in which Benjamin and Elowen see each other across a crowded room are poorly articulated, in material and production. The lyrics, outside of narration, tend to be clumsy and or impersonal and or nonspecific. The music tends to be unremarkable. Likewise the arrangements and orchestrations, by Mark Aspinall and the composer. The jokes tend to be leaden. The new time period, from the 1910s to the 1980s, is, given the show’s numerous other issues, neither here nor there, in terms of effectiveness and potency. And the continuous suggestion of chapters is inexpert: “And so began the next chapter of Benjamin’s life.” (How many chapters are we in for!)

Other items of negative note: the random use of flashlights; the extraneous, unproductive band and dance breaks; the false introduction of Benjamin’s father’s vocals on the introduction of Benjamin’s father; the ropes; the family portrait; etc. Not to mention redundancy.

One can nonetheless appreciate – and even find momentary excitement in – the neatly escalatory, neatly worded list of backwards events toward the end of “The Western Wind,” with which the story begins. Though the rest of the song is faulty. (Click here to listen to minutes 5:43 through 7:20 of the West End cast recording.) And one can appreciate the idea behind the “Matter of Time” sequences. Though the execution is faulty. And one can appreciate the idea to craft the piece as story-theatre, performed by actor-musicians. But the authors seem to have done so for no particular reason and without any particular point of view. Where is the individuality in this well-worn conceit? And what is the individual character of the musical? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not even stylish.

---

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Here is a list of select press announcements from the past week. Each headline is clickable for more information.

• Cast Set for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Warriors on Broadway
• Todrick Hall’s Midnight Extends Off-Broadway Run to January 2027
• Corbin Bleu, Megan Hilty, Colton Ryan and More to Star in On the Town at Carnegie Hall
• The Bengsons’ Ohio to Make New York Debut at Greenwich House Theater in January
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Extended at the Public Theater
• Taye Diggs, Neil Patrick Harris, Rachel Zegler, More Join Rent 30th Anniversary
• Margaret Cho to Join The Rocky Horror Show as the Narrator
• Lana Gordon, Jim Newman, More Will Join Donna Vivino in World Premiere of Kilgallen Musical Off-Broadway
• Soon to Extend Through November Off-Broadway at St. Luke’s Theatre
• Abingdon Theatre Company Will Stage New Musical Every Wednesday Night Off-Broadway
• Marc delaCruz to Star in Magno Rubio Musical at Ma-Yi Theater Company Off-Broadway
• Jennifer Simard Extends Run in Schmigadoon! on Broadway
• Ariana Madix Extends Run in Just in Time on Broadway
• Ethan Slater Extends Little Shop of Horrors Run as T.R. Knight Departs Off-Broadway Revival
• Complete Cast Set for Traitorz: The Unauthorized Musical Parody
• Meet the Full Cast of Spring Awakening Off-Broadway Revival

---

PREVIEWS AND OPENINGS

Here is a list of the new musicals and revivals either opening or beginning previews during the upcoming week, specifically on Broadway and Off-Broadway. It contains, as well, select new musicals beginning performances regionally, and select new musicals and revivals beginning performances in New York City. Each title is clickable for more information.

Monday, October 26
• Concert: Rent

Tuesday, October 27
• Regional: 1972
• Regional: Grim
• Opening: I Became We

Wednesday, October 28
• NYC: Parcel from America
• Concert: In the Heights

Thursday, October 29
• Opening: The Heart

Friday, October 30

Saturday, October 31

Sunday, November 1

Photo of a scene from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Joan Marcus.