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| The cast of "Paradise Square." (Photo by Kevin Berne) |
Berkeley Repertory
Theatre has a blockbuster with its world premiere of “Paradise Square, A New
Musical.”
Set in New York
City’s squalid Five Points neighborhood during the Civil War in 1863, it
captures a moment in U.S. history when Irish immigrants who had fled the potato
famine and freeborn and freed black slaves mixed congenially.
Most of the action
takes place in the Paradise Square saloon owned by a black woman, the
no-nonsense Annabelle “Nelly” Freeman (Christina Sajous). She is assisted by an
Irish woman, Annie O’Brien (Madeline Trumble), who is married to a black
preacher, the Rev. Samuel E. Cornish
(Daren A. Herbert).
Joining them are Owen
Duignan (A.J. Shively), Annie’s nephew just arrived from Ireland; and William
Henry Lane (Sidney Dupont), an escaped slave from Tennessee.
The final principal
is destitute, alcoholic composer Stephen Foster (Jacob Fishel), who has
abandoned his wife and daughter and becomes pianist at the saloon.
“Paradise Square”
composers Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyricist Nathan Tysen, based the
show’s music on Foster’s songs, many of them re-imagined for more modern
tastes.
Howland serves as the
show’s musical director, while Kirwan conceived the idea for the show.
The book by Marcus
Gardley, Craig Lucas and Kirwan shows how the dance contests so common in Five
Points saloons evolved into tap dance and vaudeville.
The fragile rapport
between the two groups is shaken when black men replace striking dock workers,
most of them Irish.
It then shatters when
a Union Army draft is instituted for men, even immigrants, but not blacks.
However, a man could avoid the draft by paying $300, a princely sum for poor
people but not the wealthy.
Hence, the
impoverished Irish became resentful of their black friends, who weren’t subject
to the draft, and even more resentful of the wealthy. The widespread riots that
broke out became the worst in U.S. history, according to the Berkeley Rep
program.
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| William (Sidney Dupont, left) and Owen (A.J. Shively) rehearse for the dance contest. Watching are Stephen Foster (Jacob Fishel), at piano; Samuel (Daren A. Herbert); and Annie (Madeline Trumble). (Photo by Kevin Berne) |
This history unfolds
musically with thrilling dances choreographed by Bill T. Jones, with assistance
from Garrett Coleman and Jason Oremus.
Some of those dances
are set to “Camptown Races,” “Oh, Susanna” and “Ring, Ring the Banjo.” The
latter features an athletic dance contest between Shively’s Owen and Dupont’s
William.
Under the direction
of Moisés Kaufman, the acting is outstanding.
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| Christina Sajous plays saloon owner Nelly Freeman. (Photo by Alessandra Mello) |
There’s also some
powerhouse singing, especially by Sajous as Nelly, who brings the house down
several times.
Yet the finale is a
nicely low-key “Beautiful Dreamer” as various characters tell what happened in
the months and years thereafter.
With 32 cast members
and an eight-piece band, this is “the biggest show in the history of Berkeley
Rep,” artistic director Tony Taccone says in the program.
Kudos also go to
Allen Moyer, whose multi-level set design seamlessly facilitates scene changes.
Also noteworthy are the lighting by Donald Holder, costumes by Toni-Leslie
James and sound by Jon Weston.
Taken together, all
of these elements add up to a highly memorable, entertaining theatrical
experience that has all the earmarks of a Broadway hit.
Running about two
hours and 45 minutes with one intermission, “Paradise Square” will continue an
extra week through Feb. 24 in Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St.,
Berkeley. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.
Photos courtesy of Berkeley Rep
