Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart

B

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century (ERC) produces “theatrical concerts,” works that combine theater, classical music, art, biography and history in a unique blend. The present piece, now at Signature Center, is based on the famed Russian composer and his strange 13-year relationship with Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow who became his patron on the condition that they never meet. Two actors, along with three fine instrumentalists, a tenor and a ballet dancer, bring the story to life. I’m not sure whether to regard it is as an epistolary drama interpolated with music or as a chamber music concert (and occasional dance recital) punctuated by the two actors reading aloud excerpts from correspondence. Joey Slotnick (Junk, The Altruists) is plausible as the composer, but is unfortunately saddled with the task of sitting still and looking pensive through long musical passages. Shorey Walker (Seussical the Musical) is a fine Madame von Meck. For me the main draw was the music and the talented young musicians. Pianist Ji, violinist Stephanie Zyzak, cellist Ari Evan and tenor Adrian Kramer are all excellent. Dancer Daniel Mantei ably executes a few numbers he choreographed for the postage-stamp size stage, but I was too concerned about the possibility of injury dancing in such a tight space to fully enjoy his contribution. The book by ERC artistic director Eve Wolf (Van Gogh’s Ear, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) relies mostly on the letters composer and patron exchanged, but also includes letters from Tchaikovsky to his brother Modeste which are quite open about the composer’s homosexuality. Straying from the letters, Wolf posits her theory for the reason Madame von Meck abruptly ended the relationship. The scenic design and costumes by Vanessa James (Van Gogh's Ear, The Dreyfus Affair) look lushly expensive and include a change of costume and furniture for the second act. The direction by Donald T. Sanders (Van Gogh’s Ear, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein), ERC Director of Artistic Productions, is fluid. The anchor of the concert is the beautiful Piano Trio in A minor.  The very idea of playing it in sections and reading letters between variations in its second movement would normally enrage me, but somehow it works here. We are also treated to four songs, a nocturne for piano and cello, a scherzo for violin and piano and an excerpt from The Nutcracker. If you are a Tchaikovsky fan, you will find much to enjoy; if not, this is not for you. Running time: two hours five minutes including intermission.

Junk

B+

Lincoln Center Theater has pulled out all the stops for its production of Ayad Akhtar’s (Disgraced, The Invisible Hand) look back at the world of finance in 1985. The size of the cast — 23 — and the sleek set by John Lee Beatty with modules that pop out as needed to facilitate smooth scene changes suggest that no corners were cut here. This is appropriate to the play’s theme. Robert Merkin (Stephen Pasquale; The Bridges of Madison County, Far From Heaven), the central character, is loosely based on Michael Milken, who turned the financial world upside down with his unsentimental application of the logic of globalism to corporate America, which often made companies worth more if they were dismembered and their unprofitable manufacturing operations closed irrespective of the number of jobs lost. The play follows the attempted hostile takeover of Everson Steel by a company backed by Merkin, who has discovered that Thomas Everson, Jr. (Rick Holmes; Hapgood, Matilda) has been cooking the books to hide the fact that profits from their pharmaceutical division have been used to hide the losses of their steel mills. When Israel Peterman (Matthew Rauch), whose company Merkin has selected to acquire Everson, and Merkin meet with Everson and his lawyer Maximilian Cizik (Henry Stram; The Cruiclble), it does not go well. The not so subtle anti-Semitism of the white-shoe financial powers versus the Jews who are threatening their status quo is an underlying theme. Some of the other characters we meet are an ambitious journalist Judy Chen (Teresa Avia Lim); Merkin’s loyal attorney Raul Rivera (Matthew Saldivar; Act One, Honeymon in Vegas), Murray Lefkowitz (Ethan Phillips), an investor with a nervous wife; Jacqueline Blount (Ito Aghayere), a lawyer who plays both sides against each other; Leo Tesler (Michael Siberry; When the Rain Stops Falling), an older investor with a taste for Judy and a distaste for “junk”; Boris Pronsky (Joey Slotnick; The Front Page), a shady middleman that Merkin’s wife Amy (Miriam Silverman; A Delicate Ship) begs him not to do business with; and Giuseppe Addesso (Charlie Semine), the N.Y. district attorney who is running for mayor. Virtually every character is corrupted by money at some point along the way. The lack of anyone sympathetic to root for is a problem for me. It is basically an ensemble piece with too many characters for any of them to be developed in much depth. If you are too young to remember the rise and fall of Milken, you may learn something new. Otherwise, your level of engagement may depend on your interest in finance and the economy. There’s more here to engage the intellect than the emotions. I thought Lucy Prebble’s play Enron was far superior. Catherine Zuber’s (Oslo, The King and I) costumes befit their characters. Doug Hughes (The City of Conversation, The Father) skillfully keeps the many strands under control. Running time: two hours 20 minutes including intermission.