Playwright: Itamar Moses
At: Writer's Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Phone: 847-242-6000; $37-$58
Through April 1
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
Bach at Leipzig does its best to be a period piece, but don't be surprised if you start thinking about American Idol, The Apprentice or even Survivor smack dab in the middle of it.
That's right. All the catty name-calling and backstabbing typical of reality TV contestants can be found in Itamar Moses' fun, if too-self-conscious, historical farce.
The situation is this: Eight composers are after the coveted post of the Thomaskirche organist in 1722 Leipzig, Germany. Not only does the position offer one of the country's largest musician incomes, it offers the composer luxurious amounts of time to write music.
Of course, the outcome is never in doubt. History tells us that a certain Johann Sebastian Bach won the post and forever shaped Western music. ( Don't believe me? Even Kylie Minogue's 1988 pop single I Should be so Lucky has Bach antecedents. )
What makes Bach in Leipzig tick is Moses' wildly exaggerated speculation on the seven losing composers ( who all nearly have Johann or Georg as their first names in a fun comic bit ) . While Bach himself is a saintly offstage presence, Moses makes his competitors into a rogues gallery of sniping schemers out to win by any means possible. Blackmail, forming treacherous alliances and even starting a literal war between kingdoms is part of their arsenal of tricks.
The niggling chords that make Bach in Leipzig ring false are Moses' over-reliance on play-on-word jokes that are plain groaners. Moses also gets far too self-reflexive and self-aggrandizing by deconstructing the basic structure and purpose of farce at one point.
Otherwise, Bach in Leipzig succeeds at being zany fun amid the opportunity for plenty of gorgeous period surroundings. Writer's Theatre certainly doesn't stint its budget on plush costuming ( courtesy of designer Rachel Anne Healy ) or professional acting talent under Nick Bowling's controlled direction.
Even if the ensemble hadn't fully gelled or wrung out every single laugh from the script on opening night, there were enough standout moments from each cast member that showed signs of a tighter comic ensemble in the future. Ross Lehman certainly reveled as the comparative moral and artistic central character Fasch, playing against Larry Yando's wickedly wry conniver Schott.
John Reeger makes a delightfully dim-witted Kaufmann while Jonathan Wier's scowling Graupner lands every one of his 'second-best resentment' bits.
An unhealthy proportion of Rob Lindley's punch lines as the most crooked composer Lenck landed with a thud, while Tim Rock didn't quite convince as the spoilt Steindorff with an air of entitlement. One also regrets Jeff Award winner Michael Aaron Lindner's minimal involvement here when his many talents could have been put to good use in Porchlight Music Theatre's current Assassins or The Teapot Scandals.
So catch Bach at Leipzig if you're a fan of farce or if you like seeing Bach put upon a pedestal.
His talent-competition win is certainly more influential than any of today's reality TV pseudo-celebrities.