SHOW INFORMATION: Through September 28; Tues - Weds at 7:30PM, Thurs - Fri at 8PM, Sat at 2 & 8 PM, Sun at 2 & 7PM. Tickets: $49 - $77. Call 703.573.7328 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.
◊◊◊ out of five. 2 hours, 25 minutes, including intermission.
ACE, the alternately thrilling and disappointing new musical which opened last night at Virginia's Signature Theatre, is much like the key props in the show. Those props are a series of scale models of WWI and WWII fighter planes, and they offer a pretty, detailed version of the real thing. The show, like those models, is close proximity of a terrific musical, but it may look like it can fly, but barely takes off. On paper, ACE has winner written all over it - a large cast full of Broadway names, including 4 divas, a beautifully evocative score that sounds like flying, and an emotional, thoroughly American story. And, truth be told, each of those elements soar separately (making it worth the trip to Arlington for true musical theatre buffs), but ultimately, the payoff is much less than the build up.
To begin with, Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor's book has a great premise. A young boy in the 1950's is sent to live with foster parents after his mother attempts suicide. He is miserable, and rightly so: his mother is a mess and his father is non-existent. In order to get her son back, the mother must prove she is stable; in order to do that, she must prove her worth to her son by telling him the story of his father. Since she can have no contact with him directly, she sends him various clues about his past - diary entries, photographs, and those model planes - so that he can fully understand and appreciate how they got to this point in their lives. Told much like the film Titanic, the tale moves easily between the present and the past. Unfortunately, a great premise (along with several interesting subplots) isn't enough when the conclusion is unsatisfying. Some of the most interesting characters have great stories that ultimately just stop with no conclusion to them. And the final moments of the play take a surreal, supernatural turn that is a poor fit for the rest of the show.
Their score, with stunning orchestrations by Greg Anthony, is much less problematic. It is an interesting mix of modern recitative (the opening number, "It's Better This Way" is a toe-tapper to boot), patriotic/aviation-feeling pieces ("In These Skies", "We're the Only Ones") and character songs that range from fun numbers ("Make It From Scratch") to moving ballads like the powerful "That's What It Should Say." I can not stress just how gorgeous the music is and beautifully it is being played. But, and it is a big one, for those of you who like to hum the tunes you hear afterward, good luck. It isn't even 24 hours later, and I couldn't hum you a tune from ACE if my life depended on it.
Director Eric Schaeffer has taken all of this potential and created a decidedly uninteresting, workman-like staging, with every moment and movement as precise as the faux rivets which line every surface of Walt Spangler's shiny metallic set. The result is an odd mix of concept musical and old-fashioned staging, and all of it pretty flat and hard to stare at for 2-plus hours. What little choreography there is (supplied by Karma Camp) serves the time period well, but does little to amp up the energy. Spangler's set is equally uninteresting, though the first time the center platform raises and tilts, it is mildly exciting. The other dozen times it does so only underscores the fact that it isn't going to do anything else. But perhaps most disconcerting is the missed opportunity to provide some flare - the costumes, designed by Robert Perdziola. True, having everyone who is in the 1950's in black and white (like TV!) and having the past be colorful is a good concept, but YIKES! Those costumes are, well, ugly. (If I were Christane Noll, I'd be on the phone to my agent...) Of the entire creative team, only Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz (lighting) and Michael Clark (projection design) seem to have been inspired at all.
