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Regional Reviews: Philadelphia Chasing Nicolette Also see Tim's review of A Year with Frog and Toad
If there's any justice, a hit. Chasing Nicolette, the new musical at the Prince Music Theater, is a show that can best be described in one word: "delightful." With its love of language and a cast that radiates exuberance, this show is a lot of fun. But it's also a lot of work. There's a lot going on here, and it's definitely not for people with short attention spans. Let's see if I can briefly summarize the plot. (I doubt it, but I'll try.) As the show opens, the King of Carthage sends his ward Nemur on a journey to find the King's daughter Nicolette. The King has promised Nemur that he will have Nicolette's hand in marriage. There's one big problem with that arrangement, though: Nicolette has been missing from Carthage for nearly all of her 17 years. We soon meet Nicolette living as a maid in Provence, lying in a hay-filled wagon, enjoying a (literal) roll in the hay with Aucassin, the son of the Count de Beauclaire. Aucassin's servant Valere tries to discourage them, but Aucassin and Nicolette won't let religious, racial or class differences stand in the way of a love that is, in the words of the show's most beautiful song, "Now and Forever." Once the Count finds out about the affair, he tries to put a stop to it - by having the reluctant young Aucassin lead soldiers into battle ("Just find a place where you can point and wave," he says). He also has Nicolette kidnapped and held prisoner in a convent, where the Mother Superior tries to force Nicolette (a Muslim) to become a nun: "God has chosen you for our vocation." (That's just one example of the non-stop rhyming couplets that make this show so enjoyable.) When she's told that she'll be denied food until she concedes, Nicolette is so headstrong that she claims not to mind: "So let starvation be my present fate / It wouldn't hurt to lose a little weight." Meanwhile, Aucassin is forced into a duel with the brave and strong Count de Valence. The cowardly Valere tries to talk his master out of fighting: "And then you know why else this doesn't thrill me? / If you should die, your father says he'll kill me!" Aucassin somehow survives the fight but ends up forced into an engagement with Valence's lovely, but somewhat dim, daughter Gwendolyn. Aucassin still loves Nicolette, though, and soon he and Valere show up to break the hungry Nicolette out of the convent. They don't quite make a clean getaway, though, because Valere gets injured: "It seems that when I gave the nun a whack, / I must have strained my sacroiliac." And then the lovers must deal with Nemur - remember Nemur, the King of Carthage's ward? He's been searching for his fiancé all over Europe, and when he finally meets up with her, things get even more complicated. And then ... and then ... wait for it ... Intermission. As the person next to me said, "That was one busy first act!" Chasing Nicolette - which has music by David Friedman, and book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg - isn't a perfect show. It takes quite a while to get the comic rhythm going, and the score mixes excellent songs with others that are dull and clunky. But the cast performs with such gusto that moments that should be clumsy glide right by. At its best, Friedman's music has a melodicism that is rare in musical theater these days. "Stranger and Stranger" has a sweeping, majestic lilt, while "Nicolette" has a sweet yearning that turns comic when Nemur keeps reprising it in unlikely places. As Nicolette, Jasika Nicole Pruitt wraps her lovely alto around earnest power ballads such as "Nothing In Common" ("We have nothing in common but love") that are reminiscent of the best of Alan Menken's work in Disney musicals. As the comic sidekick who is really the center of attention, Bronson Pinchot does well by funny mid-tempo numbers like "Do Nothing" and "You Have to Lie." There's even a vaudeville-style ditty ("Romance") and a song that sounds like it could be a real 13th-century folk ballad ("There Once Was a Man" - not to be confused with the song of the same title in The Pajama Game). Director Ethan McSweeny never lets the comic tone overwhelm the plot. He builds the love story between Nicolette and Aucassin convincingly, then lets the lovers get out of the way when some comedy is needed. McSweeny is helped by a cast that does not have one weak link. While it's hard to single anyone out, three performers make especially memorable contributions. First, there's Bronson Pinchot, who plays the everyman we all wish we could be, and does it with memorable flair (it's one of the year's best performances). As Nemur, Kevin R. Free's outsized reactions give every line just the right touch and help make his character lovable. Finally, there's Rebecca Bellingham as Gwendolyn. Her startlingly pure soprano, great comic timing and beatific blonde appearance mark her as someone sure to be headed for bigger things. (Let's hope that someone signs her up as a replacement Glinda in Wicked soon.) There are lots of other wonderful things in this show, like the sleek, simple set design by Neil Patel and costumes by Constance Hoffman that look authentic but are not distracting. But what holds the show together is Peter Kellogg's rhyming dialogue, which takes what could be a boring, confusing story and makes it interesting. By the time, late in act two, that Aucassin tells off a miserable minstrel - "Ever since you sang your cheerful idyll / My mood has gone from sad to suicidal" - it's clear that this is a show that's having fun with language. This is also apparent when Gwendolyn falls in love with the minstrel, not knowing it is Nicolette in disguise: "Are all the men like you, my balladeer?" This inspired silliness is the hallmark of Chasing Nicolette. It's the reason that, as you are watching it, you may have almost as much fun as the people onstage. Chasing Nicolette runs through January 2, 2005 at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets range from $38 to $52 and student tickets are $24; a family four-pack of tickets is $100. They are available by calling the box office at 215-569-9700, or online at www.princemusictheater.org. Chasing Nicolette
Choreographer... Karma Camp CAST: The Moors: The French: Servants Monks, & Nuns... Shauntee Blow, Susan Fowler, David Alan Heayn, Melissa Kolczynski, J.J. Orgera, Valerie June Shaffer, Jay Wahl
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