Lovemusik?...Nope

Oh, my. I saw Lovemusik last night. Oh, dear. Maybe I wanted to like it too much and when I didn’t I was 1) nonplussed, 2) embarrassed for all those talented people and 3) pissed off by the big bucks I spent to see it. The premise sounds so good. The love story of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya put to music (Weill’s music), directed by Hal Prince, starring Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy. Except for Murphy, whose characterization was right on the mark, Lovemusik started in disappointment and went downhill from there. After doing some research I now realize that Kurt Weill did all his best, and deservedly famous, work before World War II, mainly in his four year collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. Consequently, the first act, which covers this ground, is the most interesting (Mack the Knife anybody?) despite the fact the German accents make it almost incomprehensible to the naked ear (mine anyway). After that particular war-to-end-all-wars, Weill ended up in the U.S. (and the second act) and was subsequently involved in what seems to be a series of Broadway flops but still made a grand living composing schlock for schlock Hollywood movies. Unfortunately, in act two this schlock was presented in a period-piece manner which probably, at that time, prompted boredom equal to my own last night.

What can I say about Michael Cerveris? He’s been more than powerful in other roles. In this case he’s been directed to portray only one emotion…if being mild-mannered counts as an emotion. And his dedication to maintaining a heavy German accent throughout the show was impressive but misguided. Didn’t Weill’s English improve just a teeny bit in the 30 years he spent in the U.S.? Conversely, although she plowed through her dialogue similarly, I was mostly able to understand Donna Murphy and, even better, she seemed to not only have the character of the legendary Lotte Lenya down cold, she was able to convey that knowledge to us in an entirely believable way. I would like to say Ms. Murphy is brilliant, and she comes close, but to attain that accolade (from me, anyway) she needs to do a show called Lotte Lenya’s Lovemusik and cut out all the middle men, including Hal Prince. I don’t know if Mr. Prince has lost his magic touch, his resume is certainly incredible, but he certainly has lost one element of his genius, and that’s the judicious utilization of a cruel pair of scissors. Holy cow, that second act could lose half an hour without losing a beat.

It’s always a puzzlement to me how professionals of this rank can go so wrong. And trust me, Lovemusik goes so wrong. It opens tonight and I hope the professional critics take some pleasure in it and see more plusses than I do. The lost opportunity and the inevitable lost investment made me lose sleep last night. Please translate all of this into German, maybe it won’t look so harsh.