Back to NYC. . .
One fun aspect of visiting the greatest city in the world is that it gives us a chance to meet up with a friend formerly of Racine who is now a busy and much-admired orchestral musician in New York City. Justin Smith grew up at Holy Communion, the son of our friends Steve and Jeri Smith, and he and I had the tremendous pleasure of making music on literally hundreds of occasions… in many cases making it up on the spot, which I like to think helped Justin to nurture his formidable gifts for improvisation. Even at that relatively young age, Justin was already adept both at classical and country/ folk styles – and a born collaborator – to say nothing of a heck of a nice guy with a great sense of humor as well as a positive, optimistic spirit that can make all the difference in the world when things get tough or tricky. (Justin Smith for President!) It was no surprise to me when Justin succeeded splendidly at St. Olaf College, but I have to confess that I never imagined Justin would carve out such an envious position in New York’s cultural scene, where the competition is so incredibly, almost absurdly ferocious. But in fact he has done just that, which is a tribute not only to his musical gifts but also to the kind of human being he is.
Justin has been in the pit for all kinds of spectacular shows, including Wicked, South Pacific, Lion King, The Producers and just about every blockbuster musical you can think of….. but generally as a sub. But more recently he has become a “starter” – most thrillingly for a groundbreaking, Tony- nominated show called “The Scotsborough Boys,” which closed before its time. More recently, Justin was hired for a quirky comedy called “Lucky Guy” which was a fabulous gig for Justin to get because he is such an amazing fiddler.
So for this latest trip to NYC, we decided that it would be fun to see this show, even though we knew next to nothing about it – and what sealed the deal was when my brother Steve and his partner Scott, who we were going to be meeting, said they were also interested in seeing the show. Sold!
And then came the shocking announcement that the show would close on May 29th, one day after we were to see it. It was a huge surprise for the cast, crew and orchestra since the show seemed to be selling pretty well, but evidently the financing was shaky enough that they couldn’t make a go of it. So we walked into the Little Schubert Theater (an off- Broadway house) half expecting a pall of sorrow to be hanging over the proceedings. But we were wrong. In an amazing example of “the show must go on” spirit, the cast delivered an energetic, joyous performance that blew the roof off of the place and left all of us grinning from ear to ear. I am still astonished at the performance they gave, knowing that they had all received pink slips three days before and just 48 hours later would be left high and dry. It brought to mind those wonderful Stephen Sondheim lyrics from Gypsy: “There’s no people like show people. They smile when they are low. Even in a turkey that you know will fold. You may be standin’ out in the cold. Still you wouldn’t change it for a sack of gold. Let’s go on with the show!” Sad as it was to know that this show was about to close, there’s no question that there was an exceptional sense of electricity in the air, and the huge ovation at the end of the evening had to have been as much about that as it was about the show itself.
By the way, this was no masterpiece (although I would hesitate to call it a ‘turkey.) But the cast was first-rate and managed to breathe great life into a rather predictable story about a young man who’s made his way to Nashville in the hopes of making it as a country-western singer/songwriter but who is at risk of being preyed upon by an unscrupulous used car dealer and a fading country music starlet. Playing the car dealer was Leslie Jordan, who is probably best-known for his hilarious work on Will & Grace as Karen’s diminutive nemesis Beverly Leslie (for which he won an Emmy). . . and as the queen of country music, we were treated to the flamboyant performance of drag queen Varla Jean Merman. My favorite thing about the show, however, was the heartfelt performance of Kyle Jean Massey as the young man hoping to make it bed. Actually, he was my second favorite thing in the show. My favorite thing was knowing that our friend Justin Smith was in the pit, fiddling up a storm and making us so proud.
Least favorite thing: That would be the three diet cokes that Steve bought for us at intermission, which cost THIRTY DOLLARS! (Only in New York!)
pictured above: The final chord of “Lucky Guy.” By the way, the announcement before the show started was that there was to be no flash photography, so for once I was snapping a legal photo at a Broadway show! (By the way, thanks again, Steve and Scott, for taking care of the tickets.)