It's just a little more than a week since Coram Boy closed on Broadway, but I can't stop thinking about it. I was at the final peformance, owing to the fact that my friend Ivy Vahanian, was in the cast. I didn't know anything about the show going in. I'd not heard, read, or scene a single ad, and I missed the Isherwood review in the New York Times on May 3.
Turns out, Ivy had one of the leads, floating onstage at the top of the show as an Angel, and then playing the pivotal role of Melissa. She was astonishing in the role, and I don't say that because I adore her personally. The arc of her character takes her from standing frozen as the Angel for 10 minutes, to lightening fast costume changes, and then as Melissa, falling in love, kissing the boy, having a baby onstage (the sounds that came out of her body!), losing the child, regaining the child fifteen years later - it's astonishing.
But that was the thing about Coram Boy. If I had to tell someone what the play was "about", it would not be easy to do in a simple paragraph. Based on a novel by Jamila Gavin, the show had some very dark overtones: murder, abortion, orphans, rape, slavery, women's rights. Yet the story never once felt like a political soapbox.
Although it was a British import (National Theatre production) it was a fine ensemble piece for some great American actors. Particulary good were Uzo Aduba as the boy Toby, and Bill Camp as the creepy/sexy bad guy Otis Gardiner.
The real hero of Coram Boy, however, was the director Melly Still. She managed 20 actors, a chorus of 20 singers, and an orchestra of 7 with such deftness and taste. There was never a moment in the show that lagged, and the staging was fresh, inventive, and carried an emotional wallup. Her eye for composition is impeccable, and she makes the empty stage come alive with more impact than all the flashy Broadway shows in the world could muster. This is a career to watch.
Sadly, though, Coram Boy never had a chance. Too many salaries, not enough shows. Ultimately, it speaks to the tastes of American audiences and the times we're living in. Who wants to sit through a Broadway show that actually says something? Who wants to feel uncomfortable? Who wants to see the ugly side of human nature? I think if Coram Boy had featured a few dance numbers, a half-naked boy swining on a bungee cord, or kids prancing around like they had spring fever, maybe it would've sold more tickets. But as it was - all human emotion and Handel music - this show had no place in a country that doesn't really want to look at truth.
