Susan Granger’s review of “LoveMusik” (Biltmore Theater ’06’07 season)
Inspired by the letters of intellectual German composer Kurt Weill (best known for “The Threepenny Opera”) and his muse, singer Lotte Lenya, “LoveMusik” follows their convoluted, complicated romance, beginning in Berlin and progressing to Paris, Broadway and Hollywood, over a period of 25 years.
Last seen menacing in “Sweeney Todd,” Michael Cerveris transforms into round-faced, bespectacled Kurt Weill, while Donna Murphy embodies, rather than imitates snarling Lotte Lenya, who – in real life – never had a voice as melodic as Murphy’s. But this new musical by librettist Alfred Uhry, directed by Hal Prince, turns out to be an unwieldy series of boring vignettes, beginning with how they “met cute,” as screenwriter Billy Wilder would say.
As the story goes, young Lotte Lenya was dispatched in a small boat and told to row across a lake to pick up Kurt Weill, who was waiting on a dock, and bring him back to the house of playwright Georg Davis (John Scherer) to meet about a possible future collaboration. The rest, as they say, is musical history, particularly when Weill subsequently collaborates with playwright Bertolt Brecht (David Pittu).
Given the limitations of the book, Prince’s production team does the best they can – Beowulf Boritt’s scenic design, Duncan Robert Edwards’ sound design, Judith Dolan’s costumes and, particularly, Howell Binkley’s lighting and Jonathan Tunick’s orchestrations.
Frankly, I’d advise you to skip the show and buy the CD.