Playwright: Jeannine Dominy ( book ) ,
Michele Brourman ( music ) ,
Amanda McBroom ( lyrics )
At: Ethel Barber Theatre,
Northwestern University ( Evanston )
Phone: 847-491-7282; $30
Runs through: Aug. 17
I love richly costumed plays and movies that plunk me down in some past era, yet I was unmoved by Dangerous Beauty despite its intelligence and superior production values. Part of my critical task is to discover why, if I can, since this world premiere is considered a developmental production as part of Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project.
Fashioned by a female triumvirate, the show is based on a book by Margaret Rosenthal ( The Honest Courtesan ) and 1998 film before it. I know neither work, so what I see on stage is what I get, as I suspect it will be for most people. Set in Venice, Italy circa 1580, Dangerous Beauty is a fictionalized biography of Veronica Franco ( 1546-1591 ) , a courtesan of Venetian nobility, a published poet of distinction and the subject of a Tintoretto portrait. Other characters are drawn from life as well, particularly members of the powerful Venier family.
The politics and society of 16th-century Venice were intricate to say the least, as the tremendously wealthy city-state saw its military fortunes fall and its famously licentious cultural life attacked by the Inquisition. Dangerous Beauty conveys all the required information surprisingly well, save for an Act II scene of bald political exposition. Very much a character-driven story, Dangerous Beauty develops its heroine as deeply as a non-musical play, while even its hero—Marco Venier—is complex for a musical.
The attention lavished on character development in Act I necessarily makes Act II a rush of incidents and plot elements—an avalanche of action that works because of the strong characters. Still, as this show isn't a finished product, some adjustment to the scene structure and division between Act I and Act II might be considered.
So here we have a work of careful construction and obviously intelligent book and lyrics, given a lavish and handsome physical production with a talented cast ( young Broadway veteran Jenny Powers as Veronica is the real deal in looks and voice ) . Why didn't it bite me in the butt?
Two things, I think. First, not only is it filled with exposition about politics and society, but it also tells me—rather than shows me—what attitudes about love and passion should be. I'm not swept away. For example, Veronica and Marco already are in love at the start, so I don't see them fall in love. Then, I found the music pleasant and sometimes grand but always bland. Of 22 numbers, only five struck me as notable in some way. The Renaissance-flavored orchestrations often sound like lute or harp and reeds, but it's rather generic pop stuff built on chords and rhythms rather than on memorable melodies. It's efficient music that serves the show well but has little emotional weight.