Monday, August 24, 2020

303. LEAVES OF GRASS. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

 

Joe Masiell, Lynn Gerb, Yolande Bavan, Scott Jarvis.

LEAVES OF GRASS [Musical Revue/Literary Anthology] AD/M: Stan Harte, Jr.; SC: Walt Whitman’s poems, Leaves of Grass; D: Stan Harte, Jr, Bert Michaels; DS: David Chapman; P: New Era Productions; T: Theatre Four (OB); 9/12/71-10/24/71 (49)

An intimate little show that offered a mildly entertaining concoction of songs based on 21 Walt Whitman poems set to a wide variety of pop musical styles, excluding rock. Much like the popular review Jacques Brel is Alive and Well . . .  in manner, it didn’t offend anyone, nor did it excite anyone either. It was “short, modest and quietly likeable,” wrote Richard Watts; “a more or less pleasant evening,” decided Martin Gottfried; but a show that “never takes fire,” in Clive Barnes’s opinion.

Whitman’s poetry was the major problem, as it (as transmuted into lyrics) lacked diversity and qualitative consistency.. The four-actor cast consisted of Joe Masiell, Lynn Gerb, Scott Jarvis, and Yolande Bavan, at least three of whom made their mark on New York theatre.