Customer Reviews

Michael John LaChiusa: Little Fish

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw LITTLE FISH here in L.A. with the cast that sings on the CD. And while there is much to admire in the work (and the actual show contained some very clever staging) it is a hard piece to warm up to - for me, at any rate. I think you should buy the CD - we should all support the efforts of real musical theatre artists - but I doubt it will get much play on my equipment beyond the initial period of curiosity. I wish this were not the case, but, alas, there it is.

In the interest of committing to and investigating newer theater composers, I have gotten around to buying all available CDs of shows by Michael John LaChiusa. His music and lyrics are always well written and interesting. However, 'Little Fish' differs from his other shows in a crucial area: direction and structure. Whereas 'Hello Again,' 'Marie Christine,' especially 'Bernarda Alba' and even 'See What I Wanna See' also take turns into vignette territory, the structure of all four shows is tight enough that even the asides are propelling the stories forward. 'Little Fish' doesn't have that. So, for every gripping tune like 'Days' there is wandering off into a tune like 'Robert.' The CD is worth it for the good stuff, but be prepared to skip around a bit.

LaChiusa is, hands down, the most interesting modern musical theatre working today (post Sondheim anyway) and it's great to get some of his shows that missed being recorded initially, finally now. This isn't a great place to start if you're new to LaChiusa--I'd suggest Marie Christine, Wild Party or Hello Again as more immediately accessible works. But it rewards repeat listening and has moments of really surprising movingness. The cast is as good as you'd find in New York--at first I found Alice Ripley a bit strident, but her role as a New Yorker trying to kick the nicotine habit is compelling.

If you don't know the play it may help to read the two stories it's based on, Flotsam and Days by the great short story writer Deborah Eisenberg in her volume Transactions in a Foreign Currency.

With an odd but followable story line, with twenty-three well-written songs that never sound repetetive, and with a likeable and talented cast of singers *and* back-up musicians to perform those songs, this will get a lot of listening to by me.

Once again Mr. LaChiusa blends song with the story in a very unique way. It's a great score with some real talent behind it.