Chaplin

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At intermission of this musical biography of Charlie Chaplin, I turned to my sister and said "Tell me when the movies become color."

One of the creative conceits of this show is that for the bulk of the time, the costumes and sets are shades of gray. Even the skin-tones of the actors are muted. To me, this effect got a bit tiring to look after a while; downright annoying during a scene incorporating Russian and US flags. Movies were shot in black and white (and silence) because of technical constraints not creative ones. And Charlie Chaplin might have worked in black and white, but his life was very colorful. Several marriages, moves from studio to studio, a partnership with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and others that gave us United Artists Studios (an event left out of this biography), and being denied re-entry into the US because of his political views.

The costumes and set might be dull, but the acting most definitely is not. Rob McClure is fantastic as Charlie Chaplin and if the show lasts long enough, I think he is definitely a contender for a Tony Award. He is ably backed up by the rest of the cast, with Christiane Noll giving a heart wrenching performance has his mother Hannah. Jenn Colella plays gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, a part which seemed to be a bit of a cartoon, and seemed to exist just to give the piece a villain for us to dislike. Michael McCormick played a number of small parts, and I was actually a bit confused for a bit when I thought that Mack Sennett was playing Charlie's father in a movie. Oh, no, it's not Mack Sennett, it's a re-used McCormick.

Ultimately, while the acting was wonderful, it wasn't enough to save the show for me. I can't remember any of the songs in the show, and strange for me, really don't care if they ever do cast recording.

As I said above, Rob McClure should be a contender for a Tony, but I suggest you see the show fast if you want to catch him, because I fear that it won't last until Tony season.

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