‘Floyd Collins' Review: Jeremy Jordan and a Stellar Score Shine in a Shadowy Broadway Musical
The very premise of the musical presents a host of logistical challenges in terms of staging, pacing, and design. It may come as little surprise that Landau, who wrote the book and directs, came up with the idea — as a director she has become known for solving, or at minimum embracing, theatrical puzzles and difficult-to-stage pieces like 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'Redwood.' Landau has a very clear take on the musical, albeit not the one audiences might expect. Along with the design team (primarily in the sets by dots and lights by Scott Zielinski), Landau makes excellent use of the cavernous stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, though not to represent caves in any literal way. Instead, the design utilizes negative space, shadow, and silhouette, creating some memorably beautiful stage pictures.
More from Variety
'Redwood' Review: Idina Menzel Hits the Heights in a Heartfelt Broadway Return
'The Great Gatsby' Review: Broadway Musical Has Glamour but Little Grit
Broadway Review: 'American Son' Starring Kerry Washington
Most of the stage is a blank expanse, vaguely textured and earthen, stretching upstage to a low horizon — and Zielinski takes full advantage of a hanging scrim to create some breathtaking displays, especially when Landau scatters the ensemble across the back wall, posing them into sublime tableaux. Other than dimmed lighting, there are no scenic gestures that ever make us feel like we are in the caves or underground. Lincoln Center is known for high-budget productions with mammoth sets, but here Landau has intentionally opted for a more barren, minimalist approach. While it's hard not to yearn for that massive stage to be filled, her restraint is admirable, a directorial achievement that is impactful and worthy of respect.
In contrast with the often thoughtful use of space, the production is marred by a baffling design choice. Jeremy Jordan, our titular hero, spends almost the entire musical onstage, trapped by an invisible rock, oddly laying on what can only be described as a barely-disguised lounge chair. Jordan becomes a distraction during the above-ground scenes, reclining with his legs out on his perfectly-rectangular, deck chair-esque 'rock' — though it is perhaps even more noticeable when he occasionally gets off it, highlighting the blocky, abstract design.
Thankfully, at least, the occupant of the chair gives us ample diversion. Though the role is slightly underwritten, Jordan finds depth in Floyd, taking him on a journey from a hopeful and plucky explorer to a scared, desperate, starving, lonely, and trapped man on the brink of both sanity and death. His clarion tenor soars through his many solos and duets, delivering the impressive vocals he has become so known for.
He is limited in terms of scene partners, since once he is trapped the action mostly happens above ground, where his family, local farmers, and a big-shot industrialist (Sean Allan Krill) attempt to execute his rescue. Two key figures go down in the caves and are able to converse (and sing) with Floyd: his brother Homer (Jason Gotay) and Skeets Miller (Taylor Trensch), a reporter sent to cover the story. Miller ends up deeply invested, befriending Floyd and working tirelessly by hand to dig him out while also sending off dispatches, writing stories, and even interviewing Floyd. Along with Jordan, Trensch is the heart of the musical, at once eager and tender, delivering the best performance of his career.
Trensch's character is essential to the musical, especially in the much-stronger second half, in which Miller's coverage of Floyd's predicament creates a media sensation. Tourists flock, vendors pop up, and the press swarm in, as everyone gathers in anticipation. This turns out — spoiler alert from 1925 — to be a carnival of tragedy. After a lagging first act, the hullabaloo provides some much-needed stage business; tension mounts when rescue efforts get more involved and Floyd's situation becomes more dire. The buzz around Floyd was a major historical event, and was even one of the first news stories broadcast on the radio. Landau and Guettel depict the media frenzy to offer questions about the impact of immediacy and publicity.
In his first song, Floyd dreams of discovering a great sand cave that people will travel miles to see. Ironically, his dream comes true, but he is unable to enjoy it, as he has become the attraction himself. This is touchingly captured in an emotionally affecting dream ballet, with a twist at the end guaranteed to pull your heartstrings.
Landau's book is at times underbaked, with some characters underdeveloped and the pacing uneven. The score, however, is unquestionably stunning: It's Guettel ('The Light in the Piazza,' 'Days of Wine and Roses') in top form, complex and layered, with a unified sound that gorgeously combines bluegrass instrumentation with wistful lyrics — particularly in the songs 'Through the Mountain' and 'How Glory Goes.' Unexpectedly, though quite fitting for the locale, the score includes quite a bit of yodelling, mostly for Jordan. Not merely a gimmick, Guettel makes clever use of it, as when Floyd finds his subterranean grotto by yodeling to find echoes, eventually creating a musical rondo with himself.
Despite some scattered strong elements, it's hard to totally make sense of 'Floyd Collins' or feel that it really works as a whole. The musical's prelude, 'The Ballad of Floyd Collins,' sets up the musical as a parable, though the moral isn't ever really defined; the show does not return to this idea in the finale or leave us with a clear takeaway. So what is the message? Is it about hubris, or humanity's plundering of natural resources, or the commodification of tragedy by press and onlookers, or, as the musical's publicity materials claim, is it 'a haunting exploration of the American dream'? There may be treasure hidden deep in the cave that is 'Floyd Collins,' but it may just be too dark and difficult to fully extract it.
Best of Variety
The Best Albums of the Decade
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
29 minutes ago
- Forbes
David Rockwell On Restaurant Design That Sets The Stage For Memories
Legendary architect and designer David Rockwell In the theater world, there's a saying that no one leaves a show humming the scenery. While it's true that great performances usually take precedence over set design, the latter can still have a profound impact on an audience's imagination and experience, whether they are conscious of it or not. The same is true for the look and layout of a restaurant, which is itself a stage for a different type of performance. No one knows restaurant design better than David Rockwell, one of the most famous architects and designers in the world, as well as a set designer for more than 100 theatrical productions, both on and off Broadway. Rockwell Group, the New York City–headquartered firm that he founded, just celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. The child of a vaudeville dancer and choreographer, Rockwell's passion for the theater comes through in his work, whether he's creating a set, restaurant, hotel, playground or even a hospital. He strikes a thoughtful balance between the various elements, be they background players or the stars of the scene, and the Rockwell Group's roster of restaurant projects reads like a who's who of the culinary world, including chef Nobu Matsuhisa's Nobu restaurants and hotels; Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe; the NYC outpost of chef José Andrés' Zaytinya; and chef Daniel Boulud's new steakhouse, La Tête d'Or, which opened late last year. In fact, Rockwell himself has been inducted into the James Beard Foundation's 'Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America.' The Interview, Part One In this two-part discussion, Rockwell reflects on his extensive career and speaks to the many considerations that go into designing a restaurant. (The interview was conducted in June, at Rockwell Group headquarters in Union Square, and has been edited for length and flow.) Almost all the work we do involves an audience and some live experience, but while the net result might be creating a place that's super memorable, we don't start out by thinking about the design being noticed. We spend a lot of time speaking to the chef and the operator about what they want, and the space also dictates a lot. But if you think about restaurants you've been in that make an impact, there are certain things that stick with you. What is the first view? How are you invited in? How does it welcome you? As I think about all of our recent restaurants and what people find memorable about them—Din Tai Fung, The Corner Store, La Tête d'Or, COQODAQ, or The View—they're totally different, but they are all very choreographed. And they are all a sequence of spaces that, even within very big spaces, focus on what the experience is like at the table. Exactly right—how the views unfold as you move through the space. The main dining room of La Tête d'Or, with the wood-burning grill at center stage The really best clients come in with lots of ideas, but not what they want it to look like. So, in the case of La Tête d'Or, [chef]Something as simple as chairs and banquettes—those are really the backbone of a restaurant. How do you sit there? How are you aggregated in groups? If we do our job right, we have a point of view that is strong enough that design decisions aren't arbitrary. Archways of light in COQODAQ's dining room We're working on a new book about hospitality, so I've been thinking about the source of ideas. In terms of lighting, when I was 12, we moved from the Jersey Shore to Guadalajara, Mexico, and that was such a significant thing for me in terms of light and color temperature and the way light feels. So I've always had this heightened sensitivity about light. Then I worked as an assistant lighting designer on Broadway—I had taken some time off from architecture school—and I had a revelation. There was a moment during rehearsal, where one light just pierced a round window and landed on the center of the stage, and it was the first time I realized that light is like the cinematographer of spaces. It tells you where to look. So I started to think about that in restaurants. Lighting has so many different jobs. It creates the way things feel. It's the thing that wakes up the eye. Contrast is very important in lighting. There's a reason why candles are a primal source that brings everyone together. In theater design, there is no cinematographer, so it's the lighting designer and the set designer that are figuring out how big the picture is. If you want to do a close-up in the theater, you have to do that with set and lighting. If you come out of a show and say, 'Boy, the sets were amazing,' that's not necessarily the first thing you want to remember, and that's probably true about a restaurant as well. So I think physical things do tend to stand out if they're discordant, but every restaurant has a different rhythm, and every restaurateur is interested in a different level of quiet or noisy. A while ago, there was a feeling that restaurants were noisy on purpose; we don't create noisy restaurants on purpose. But the other extreme is that I don't think people want a restaurant where you don't hear the clink of New York in the background. The same is true about seating. There's a very different kind of strategy when you're creating a restaurant where people are going to spend two-and-a-half hours eating dinner than a place like Din Tai Fung that has a one-hour turnover. The chairs are more vertical. The tables are hard surfaces. How involved are you in designing the back of the house—the kitchen space—and how it flows? There's always a kitchen consultant we work with who deals with the layout of the equipment, but we're very involved in the flow and the circulation. For the first Nobu, what [chef] Nobu [Matsuhisa] was most interested in was the sushi bar, but the sushi bar links to the kitchen, because some of the food is begun in the kitchen and finished at the sushi bar and vice versa. So both the bar and the kitchen were involved in the laying out of the space. I'm always out looking at things. I get a lot of inspiration from travel, and I see a lot of theater. I'm a Tony voter, so that means I'm going to at least 40 shows a year. I also eat out a lot. I'm always trying to ask why, digging deep and staying curious. [Check back here in a few days for the second half of this interview, including a look at some of Rockwell's upcoming projects.]
CBS News
9 hours ago
- CBS News
Tom Troupe, "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek" actor, dies at age 97
Tom Troupe, the veteran stage and screen actor who appeared in dozens of TV shows over the course of a decadeslong career, died Sunday morning, his representative confirmed. He was 97. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Troupe moved to New York in 1948 to pursue a career in acting. But he first would serve in the Korean War, earning a bronze star, according to his representative. After his service, Troupe returned to New York and made his Broadway debut in 1957 in a production of "The Diary of Ann Frank." Ten years later, Troupe moved cross country to Los Angeles, where he would go on to appear in more than 70 television shows, usually in single episode roles. Notably, Troupe had roles in "Mission: Impossible," "Star Trek," "The Fugitive," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "The Wild Wild West" and "Cheers." Troupe also co-wrote and starred in the 1968 movie "Sofi," the film version of a play based on Nikolai Gogol's "Diary of a Madman." Troupe also continued his stage career, acting in productions of "The Lion in Winter," "Fathers Day" and "The Gin Game," which also co-starred his late wife, Carole Cook, who died in 2023. Troupe is survived by his son, Christopher Troupe and daughter-in-law, Becky Coulter.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Ghost' Premiered 35 Years Ago This Weekend. How PEOPLE's Critic 'Really' Felt About It Back in the Day
The romance thriller ghost story made $505.7 million at the box office and inspired a Broadway musicalNEED TO KNOW Ghost celebrates its 35th anniversary on July 13 The romance thriller made $505.7 million at the box office and inspired a Broadway musical However, back in 1990, PEOPLE's film critic called it "dopily written"Ghost premiered on July 13, 1990, centering on a young woman in trouble as the ghost of her murdered lover tries to protect her with the help of a spiritual medium. The movie opens up with lovebirds Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore). However, it takes a turn when Wheat is murdered by business partner Carl Brunner (Tony Goldwyn), leaving him to return as a ghost but unable to communicate with Jensen. The late banker then seeks help from psychic Old Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) to shield Jensen from Brunner's nefarious plans. At the time, PEOPLE's critic noted that the film "isn't another movie about friendly spirits hanging out' and 'takes the ghost business with boneheaded seriousness.' "Swayze is killed in a mugging and realizes he's dead to the world (though visible to the audience), he starts researching ghost behavior," the review read in part. "He wants to help Moore, his girlfriend, catch his killer." "So he finds a veteran ghost, Vincent Schiavelli, who can physically influence the living. Swayze goes into training, and Schiavelli tells him, 'You've gotta take all your emotion — all your anger, love, hate — push it way down into the pit of your stomach and let it explode,'" the review continued. "In its intensity and mumbo jumbo, the scene resembles Yoda guru-ing Luke — you expect Schiavelli to tell Swayze, 'Let the ectoplasm be with you.' " PEOPLE joked in its Ghost review that Moore may have set "an all-time record for most scenes of tears welling up in eyes" in the "dopily written" film, which also had "fundamentalist Christian overtones." "The zero-perspective direction is by Jerry Zucker, who has been involved with on-purpose funny movies — such as Airplane! — but none that more richly deserves guffaws than this one," the review concluded. "If making bad movies qualifies as a deadly sin, [Bruce Joel] Rubin and Zucker had better start pushing all their emotion into the pit of their stomachs right now so they have a fighting chance when those little devils in the black outfits come after them." Despite this review from PEOPLE, the film raked in a whopping $505.7 million worldwide, surpassing another 1990 hit, Home Alone, which made $476.6 million at the box office. Ghost was nominated for five awards and won three at the 1991 Oscars. Goldberg walked away with the hardware for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Speaking to PEOPLE after the movie came out, Swayze explained that the film was much more than just a love story to him. He revealed that seeing the plaster dummy representing his character's body took him back to his father's funeral, when he "almost passed out" after touching his dad in his coffin. 'I had pushed that memory out of my life until that moment on location when it all came back, big time,' he said. 'There were a few scenes where something happened to me that was very scary.' As difficult as it was to manage those emotions, it helped him tap into his character, who, like his father, died before his time. In the same interview, Swayze said he felt the message of the film "was about living your life for the moment, because that's all you've got … If you don't communicate with the people you love, you set yourself up for incredible pain if you lose them.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Speaking at a 2013 American Film Institute event honoring the film, Moore said she loved the script but wasn't sure audiences would respond to it. 'It's a love story, and it's a guy – a dead guy – trying to save his wife, and there is a comedy part, but really, really it's a love story, and I thought, 'Wow, this is really a recipe for disaster … It's either going to be something really special, really amazing, or really an absolute bust,'" she recalled. She shared a similar sentiment over a decade later while chatting with Interview Magazine, acknowledging that Ghost got 'horrible reviews.' 'I remember seeing the movie and thinking it was great, and then the first reviews were awful,' the actress said in the 2024 interview. 'I was so out of my body, because all of a sudden, I was like, 'I don't know if I can trust myself because I thought it was good?' At that moment, I decided to not read reviews, because you have to give equal value to the good and the bad," she added. Ghost is available to watch for free on Kanopy and Hoopla, and for rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
