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NY Theater: “The Woman in White” is a bloodless thrillerVictorian villains, victims and heroes cause more yawns than chillsBy Lucy KomisarConsidering that “The Woman in White” is a suspense thriller that includes murder, it’s hardly complimentary to call it bloodless. But this plodding musical, based on a Victorian Gothic melodrama, is a disappointing affair whose most interesting aspect is the constantly changing set. An almost filmic feel is accomplished with videos projected on a semicircular backdrop and a movable screen that revolves at center stage. It’s quite wonderful to see moors come into view or a pink stone castle loom up, though sometimes the swirls and zooms can make you dizzy.
In the victims’ corner, determined to solve the mystery and “right this wrong,” are Laura’s half-sister, Marion (Friedman) and the ladies’ handsome new drawing teacher, Walter (Adam Brazier). The problem is that it’s all so predictable, including the secret. Anne Catherick appears out of the standard Andrew Lloyd Webber mist to tell Walter, “I have no home, nothing but my secret. I have just my secret.” Exactly how many secrets can a young woman wronged by a villain in the Victorian era have? You guessed it.
The other singers are also competently Broadway. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music is predictable and unmemorable, and even David Zippel’s lyrics don’t come up to his usually clever style. I enjoyed “You Can Get Away With Anything” by Count Fosco, the creepy Italian doctor who likes white mice. But somebody should tell Daniel Marcus, understudy for Michael Ball in the role, that ci vediamo, Italian for “we’ll see each other,” is pronounced chee, as in ciao, not see. “The Woman in White.” Book by Charlotte Jones. Lyrics by David Zippel. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Directed by Trevor Nunn. Production & video design by William Dudley. Starring Maria Friedman, Michael Ball, Angela Christian, Adam Brazier, Jill Paice, Ron Bohmer, Walter Charles, Richard Todd Adams, Justis Bolding, Lisa Brescia, Laura Dekkers, John Dewar, Roger E. DeWitt, Courtney Glass, Patty Goble, Leah Horowitz, Norman Large, Michael Shawn Lewis, Elizabeth Loyacano, Sean MacLaughlin, Daniel Marcus, Greg Mills, Elena Shaddow, Daniel Torres. Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway & 46th St. Tue-Sat 8pm; Wed & Sat 2pm; Sun 3pm. Running time: 2:40. $26.25-$101.25. 212-307-4100. Through Feb. 19, 2006. http://www.womaninwhitethemusical.com/ by Manuel Harlan. |
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TM
The
play picks up some energy only for a moment in the second act when our heroine,
Marion (Maria Friedman) stumbles into a demimonde bar whose denizens show some
life and menace. At other times, the principals are so formulaic in their
emoting that it’s hard to take them seriously. Neither do they go over the top
enough to achieve camp. Director Trevor Nunn seems not to have decided whether
he wanted a scary mystery or an arch send-up of the genre.
The
story involves a villain, Sir Percival Glyde (Ron Bohmer), his accomplice Count
Fosco (understudy Daniel Marcus in the production I saw) and two beautiful, slim
victims, Laura (Jill Paice), the heiress whose father unaccountably betrothed
her to Glyde, and Anne Catherick (Angela Christian), a mysterious waifish woman
with a secret. 
Marion
has the most gumption of the group: “We will not be victims, Laura. We will
right this wrong.” And Anne is no slouch in the “I’ll get you back for what you
did to me” department. The three women together easily outclass the bad guys. In
the process, Maria Friedman displays a pleasing rich soprano, while Jill Paice
conveys her sorrows in a voice that is ethereal and sweet.
