Review - Little Miss Sunshine at the Second Stage

The end-of-the-semester crush is upon me, and I find myself scrambling to grade papers, plan finals, meet with students, and yet still keep up with my blogging backlog.

As Tevye said, "It isn't easy."

One rather interesting byproduct of the crush is that I find myself writing reviews of shows that I saw about a month ago. (I still have Murder for Two and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder in the pipeline. Both are absolutely delightful, and I'm going back to see Gentleman's Guide again next week. Watch for my reviews.)

The interesting part is that, as I return to consider these pieces critically, I find that some of them have really stuck with me, creating a lasting impression of the grand old time that I had while attending, for instance, both Murder for Two and A Gentleman's Guide.

And then there's Little Miss Sunshine, the new musical with music and lyrics by William Finn, and with book and direction by James Lapine. The show is just now rounding out an extended engagement at the Second Stage Theatre. The musical is based, of course, on the delightfully quirky 2006 movie "Little Miss Sunshine," but the stage version has had a bit of a rocky development. It played an out-of-town engagement in 2011 at La Jolla Playhouse, and was anything but well-received. The musical has since undergone considerable changes, to the point where only three of the original songs remain.

Despite the show's poorly received tryout, and some pretty dismissive word-of-mouth, I went into Little Miss Sunshine with a hopeful sense of expectation. This is, after all, the team that gave us Falsettos, A New Brain, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. And while I was watching the show, I remember thinking that it was a whole lot more engaging and enjoyable than the advanced word had me expecting.

But unlike both Murder for Two and A Gentleman's Guide, Little Miss Sunshine just hasn't stuck with me. The tone of the show is clear, if not quite as sharp as that of the movie. And the characterizations are vivid and endearing: you're genuinely pulling for these people as they race to make it to California so that little Olive Hooper can participate in the beauty pageant.

Finn is at his best here when crafting quirky uptempo sequences, of which there are thankfully quite a few. But the edges seem a lot softer, the neurosis a bit more tame. Which is unfortunate, because the source material really cries out for edge. His ballads for this show reflect a tad more simple sentiment and earnest cliche than he has exhibited before. Also, Finn would seem to have no ear at all for how young girls speak to each other. His songs for a passel of mean girls who taunt Olive sound like what a sixty-something man might imagine nine-year-old girls sound like, but without having any direct experience in same. In other words, fake and forced.

Director James Lapine keeps the action moving at a fast clip, providing a number of inspired sequences along the way, particularly those involving the family VW microbus, getting it started, and then getting all the folks on board. There are clear Lapine touches in the set design, particularly in the chairs on wheels used here to suggest the family van (greatly reminiscent of the wheeled set pieces he used in Falsettos), which allow for great efficiency in traveling from sequence to sequence. These modular pieces are set amid a genuinely striking unit set, designed by Beowulf Boritt, that comprises a serpentine road map climbing up the back wall, and then snaking onto the ceiling over the audience's head. It's stunning.

The cast for Little Miss Sunshine features a number of usual suspects in the New York City theater world, including Will Swenson as the father, Stephanie J. Block as his wife, and Rory O’Malley as the suicidal Uncle Frank. All extremely professional performers, but, getting back to my point about a lasting impression, I find that none of the performances has really stuck with me, except perhaps for little nine-year-old Hannah Nordberg as Olive.

So, I'm glad Little Miss Sunshine made it to New York, and that I got a chance to see it. But the show, while possessing admitted charms, will very likely not have the staying power of a Falsettos or a Spelling Bee. Even so, I'll take second-rate Finn-Lapine over first-rate work from many of the other teams currently working any day of the week.

Comments

[Geoff]

You liked this considerably more than I. In fact I could scarcely believe this was the work of Finn and Lapine because it was so tame and...well, lackluster: not exactly bad, but a far cry from what we've come to expect from these innovative artists. I'm doubtful anybody could have serviced the material better, but the tepid results suggest perhaps this is material not destined to sing.

It did not help that the show had a "cut down" quality and felt rushed and incomplete. It's also awkward when a number clearly designed to end Act 1 is retained and yet the action proceeds without interruption, failing to give the audience a chance to savor or process the moment. Add in at least two cases of wild miscasting and the handwriting is on the wall. I had high expectations, but like the microbus the Hoover clan is perpetually shoving around the stage, this musical remains stalled and in need of repair.

[Scot Colford]

Oh, very well put. I had a great time at the show, and I agree that Nordberg was a treat. But it certainly is no classic.

Was Will Swenson a little pitchy in his big ballad when you saw it?

[Taylor Wikoff]

I know this is completely irrelevant to your post, but I am quote puzzled. I live in Florida and am thinking about auditioning for the Florida Repertory theatre. The shows they are doing are Urinetown and Into the Woods Jr. The ages for auditioners for Into The Woods are 5-16, while Urinetown is 13-21. I'm a 14 year old male.I like Urinetown and adore Into The Woods, but still have no clue which show to audition for. Currently, I'm playing Jack in my school's production of Into the Woods Jr and have no prior work with them or any professional/community theatre experience. I have faith though. I am told I am a wonderful singer, good actor, and fair dancer. What show should i audition for. Should i audition at all?

[ccaggiano]

Hey, Taylor.

Glad to help if I can. Well, those are two very different shows, be each terrific in its own way. Urinetown is very satirical and dark, whereas Into the Woods is very light-hearted at first, although it gets much darker toward the end.

And the answer to the question "Should I audition?" Is almost always "Yes." The more auditioning experience you get, the more comfortable you'll be auditioning in the future.

Break a leg.

-Chris

[Taylor]

Thank you very much! I'm going to audition for Urinetown. I appreciate your thoughts very much and wish you a fantastic new year!