Playwright: book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry, music by Robert Waldman, based on a novella by Eudora Welty. At: Griffin Theatre at Theatre. Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. Phone: 773-327-5252; $15-$25. Runs through: March 29
If you vaguely recall seeing elements of The Robber Bridegroom in several other musicals, it's not your imagination. But despite the title character's reputation for thievin' ways, be assured that its creators, Robert Waldman and Alfred Uhry, came by their bounty through honest channels.
The plot traces its origins to the Brothers Grimm—or, more recently, to American author Eudora Welty, whose 1942 novella changed the locale from the Black Forest of Germany to the scrub woodlands of her native Mississippi, incorporating its regional folklore to that of the 18th-century European fables. But Waldman and Uhry ( the latter of whom would later achieve fame for his accounts of life in the Deep South—e.g., Driving Miss Daisy ) recognized the commercial potential of old-world myth coupled with slickly arranged pop-folk music. The result was a fast-and-fluffy romp whose score of ersatz Bluegrass ditties and roster of bucolic stereotypes earned critical acclaim and a Tony award in 1976—long before, take note, Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods set the tone for future fractured-fairy-tale knockoffs.
What tickled urbane New Yorkers in the mid-1970s, however, is not the same as what thrilled fans of Appalachian gothic yarns in the early 1940s, or, for that matter, what appeals to midwestern audiences in 2009. And so even under the capable direction of Paul S. Holmquist, this Griffin Theatre production never quite decides whether it wants to be a reinvention of classical themes or a giddy Hee Haw spoof. Uhry and Waldman seem to have been likewise ambivalent, juxtaposing speeches steeped in homespun poetry with song lyrics flaunting decidedly modern idioms.
Fortunately, the almost nonstop parade of melodies eliminates any necessity for attending to the story—which, for the record, involves a rich man's beautiful daughter, her jealous stepmother, a gentleman bandit, a simpleton, a pair of ruffians and copious backcountry sorcery. A nimble string band led by Timothy Ryan Fisher, along with Heather Haneman's exuberant barn dances, keep the pace brisk and high-stepping, while Cameron Brune, Caroline Fourmy, Amanda Hartley and an effusive ensemble skip the line between innocence and irony without a misstep. With this much dazzle coming at us for 105 minutes at the close range facilitated by Theatre Building Chicago's West Stage, how could anyone not have themselves a rollicking no-brain good time to brighten up a chilly spring?
