Susan Granger’s review of “Coram Boy” (Imperial Theater ’06-’07 season)
Set in 18th century England, this is the strange and compelling saga of two orphaned boys – one who is dumped near a slave ship and another who is heir to a fortune – set against glorious variations on Handel’s “Messiah” performed by a chorus of 20 singers.
As the sinister, heart-tugging, gothic melodrama begins, Otis Gardiner (Bill Camp) roams the countryside as a “Coram man,” meaning he takes unwanted infants and children for a fee and, supposedly, deposits them at an orphanage founded by Thomas Coram. But nefarious Otis, aided by a scheming housemaid (Jan Maxwell), actually kills the babies and sends the children off to gruesome workhouses while continuing to extort money from their shamed mothers. This appalls Otis’ simple-minded son, Meshak (Brad Fleisher), who secretly saves one particular baby, the illegitimate son of a talented, aristocratic composer and the daughter of his sister’s governess. As the convoluted plot twists and turns, much is revealed about two young men (Xanthe Elbrick, Charlotte Parry), who became fast friends while singing in the chorus at Gloucester Cathedral.
Based on Jamila Gavin’s young-adult historic novel, adapted by Helen Edmundson, and inventively directed by Melly Still, it’s distinctly Dickensian and spectacularly staged, particularly an underwater rescue sequence. With the choir positioned above and behind the actors, the 75 minutes of choral music – about 15% Handel harmoniously integrated with 85% Handel-inspired baroque pieces by composer Aaron Sutton – serve as a kind of classical soundtrack, amplifying and unifying the mood of the narrative.
A welcome import from the National Theater in London, the “Coram Boy” – which at $6 million is the most expensive ‘nonmusical’ play ever produced on Broadway – is not to be missed this season.