Review - The Pirate Queen (5.8.07)

The Pirate Queen (Tuesday, 5.8.07)
Hilton Theatre, New York City

By: Claude-Michel Schonberg (music and book), Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics and book), John Dempsey (lyrics), Eugene Lee (scenic design), Kenneth Posner (lighting), Martin Pakledinaz (costumes), Jonathan Deans (sound), Graciela Daniele (choreography), Frank Galati (direction)

Starring: Stephanie J. Block (Grace O’Malley), Hadley Fraser (Tiernan), Jeff McCarthy (Dubhdara), Linda Balgord (Queen Elizabeth I), William Youmans (Sir Richard Bingham), Marcus Chait (Donal O’Flaherty)

It is difficult to know where to begin with The Pirate Queen, which is nothing short of a gigantic mess. I suppose the fairest thing to do is start with the premise – the story of Grace O’Malley, the Sixteenth Century Irish Chieftain who led her clan during the time of Elizabeth I. There is something admirable in the notion of a centering a show around a strong female character. If only the creators had been able to do something with it.

The relatively promising premise aside, there is very little else to admire in this clunky and aimless musical production. First and foremost, Claude-Michael Schonberg’s music could not be more plodding and uninteresting. Schonberg has always been prone to using simplistic modes, such as scales or repetitive intervals, but here it is nonstop, and listening to his score is like listening to a beginner piano student practice their technique. Even the best singers cannot transform Schonberg’s tuneless score into something compelling. Unlike some other musicals which can hide the weakness of their scores with a good book (the best example of this being Wicked), this show is entirely told through song. There is just no hiding the musical deficiencies.

The book, what there is of it, is also a huge disappointment, as are the plodding lyrics. Given the relatively promising premise, there is an unbelievable lack of compelling motion. The opening scene is a total mess – there simply HAD to be a better way of telling Grace’s early story. This wasn’t it. And beyond that, the momentum never builds to the critical scene in Act I – the betrayal – or the critical scene in Act II – Grace’s meeting with Elizabeth. The show tries so hard to be emotional that it is overbearing. The characters never have a chance to breathe.

Which brings me to one of the stranger aspects of the evening, which is the character of Queen Elizabeth. As played by Linda Balgord, Elizabeth is a complete parody. Her entourage sings light “English-sounding” ditties, while she, dressed in Elizabethan-looking gear, croons out songs from Sunset Boulevard. It is jarring, the juxtaposition of Elizabeth with the rest of the action – which is not a problem in terms of trying to separate “England” from “Ireland” – but it is a problem in terms of shifting the style so completely back and forth. Whereas the Irish portion of the show aims to be melodrama (though it never achieves it), the English portion seems to be parody (though it never achieves it). It is a double failure.

The design elements do not fair much better. Though the set is big and there is a lot on stage, the show manages to be expensive without looking like it, and to have big set pieces that do not really add to anything. I wouldn’t call the show visually “stunning” – merely large. There are a couple of nice effects, unfortunately, the ship (which is so important to Grace’s clan) is not one of them. Making things all the more problematic are the clunky costumes. They are bulky and vaguely period, without being either authentic or nice to look at.

The choreography also falls far short. Admittedly, there are a couple of moments during the big scenes (like the wedding scene) where the choreography starts to get interesting, but then it stops. Given the producers’ roots in Riverdance, they would have been far better off simply having extended dance numbers. At least those would have been interesting to watch.
As for the actors, they certainly do try hard. Stephanie Block is talented – she showed that in The Boy From Oz – but her talents are deserving of a role with better songs and better character development. Block does her best to show Grace’s resolve, but frankly we do not know as an audience where it comes from. And when she sings later in the show about being a woman, we are not sure why she reaches that conclusion – is it simply because she is a mother (who has not raised her child because she’s been in prison)?

Hadley Frasier does not fare too much better. He is the “good guy,” to be sure, but he is also playing second fiddle. And he never gets a good song to sing. Marcus Chait is even worse off – he gets to be the bad guy, yet he never gets a chance. Boublil is prone to this – he likes to write characters who are all good or all evil, without showing the nuances in between. There are no Javert’s here (the bad guy who is also a good guy. O’Flaherty has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

In the end, the conclusion of The Pirate Queen is a relief. It is a relief that the proceedings have finally come to an end, that we do not have to hear more about the story of Grace O’Malley or listen to talented actors sing such horrible lyrics to such horrible tunes. That The Pirate Queen ran for a couple of months is a testament to fans’ devotion to Les Miserables and Riverdance. But we are let down in virtually every respect.