(Production photo by Meredith Longo)

by Tim Leininger

WEST HARTFORD — When Gutenberg! The Musical! opened on Broadway, its satirical concept of two middle aged men attempting to get their first musical produced needed the star power of Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells to make it work on a stage the size of the James Earl Jones Theatre. But after seeing Playhouse on Park’s production, directed by Sasha Brätt, and running through Feb. 8, I’ve concluded that a smaller venue like Playhouse, feels like a much better stage for such an earnest little show.

            Created by Anthony King and Scott Brown, the musical is staged as a one-off reading of a new musical, Gutenberg! The Musical!, read by the show’s two fictional creators, Bud Davenport (Jeremiah Michael Ginn) and Doug Simon (John Wascavage). The two life-long friends have done little research on the musical’s subject matter, Johannes Gutenberg. They know where he’s from and when he was alive. They also know he created the printing press, leading to the publication of the Gutenberg Bible. That’s about all the factual history they work with.

What they do know is a moderate knowledge of musical theater storytelling tropes. As they present their musical to the audience, they explain their reasoning for the plot while acting out all the roles, wearing trucker hats with labels on them to indicate which role they’re playing at any moment. It’s all silly, satirical fun, infused with metatextual references to the craft of writing musicals, poking fun at things like the need for complex Act I finales and melodramatic 11 o’clock numbers. The musical they create isn’t good by any stretch of the word outside of the music of the songs themselves, which would be obligatory at risk of being intolerable. It’s lyrically and narratively absurd with elements like a plot involving Gutenberg’s potential love interest being kidnapped and imprisoned by a monk and having a young Nazi in the cast of characters. It doesn’t make any sense and it’s not supposed to outside of its satirizing the musical theater artform.

(Production photo by Meredith Longo)

The success of the musical is dependent upon the endearing nature of the performances of Bud and Doug as we know they have no clue what they’re doing as musical theater creators. Jeremiah Michael Ginn and John Wascavage successfully capture the bright-eyed innocence of what Bud and Doug are attempting to do. They believe in their product so much, regardless of how absurd it is, and present it with so much joy, that we want to see them succeed.

One of the benefits of producing this show in a house as small as Playhouse on Park, is that it feels like a space that Bud and Doug can actually afford, versus the Broadway production where they get enough money to rent a Broadway theater for one night. Another thing is that with a regional house, the production quality is not going to be as polished as a Broadway show. That is not a slight against Playhouse on Park, it’s just the natural order of things. This works to Playhouse’s advantage, as Bud and Doug’s show looks a bit more rag-tag than the Broadway version, which is a good thing, as Scenic Designer Arthur Wilson embraces the minimal production value concept while not making it look or feel sloppy or unintended from a legitimate production perspective. There is little to no commentary from Bud and Doug about the lighting, letting designer Kyle Stamm to offer a polished design, especially during the musical sequences.

(Production photo by Meredith Longo)

Gutenberg! the Musical! feels more at home here at Playhouse on Park than on a Broadway stage. The environment embraces the story better and helps the story and characters feel more relatable. It’s a silly show, full of absurd sequences that musical theater fans will appreciate. It’s a show that musical theater fans with a soft spot for the inherently absurd construct of the artform should enjoy.

GUTENBERG THE MUSICAL

PRODUCTION

Written by Anthony King and Scott Brown; Director: Sasha Brätt; Music Director: Miles Messier; Scenic & Costume Designer: Arthur Wilson; Lighting Designer: Kyle Stamm; Sound Designer: Joe Krempetz; Props & Set Dressing: Darlene Zoller; Assistant Director: Julia Solecki; Production Stage Manager: Rebecca Donaghy

CAST

Jeremiah Michael Ginn as Bud Davenport

John Wascavage as Doug Simon

Miles Messier as Charles