HEARTFIELD

a new musical

review by Suzanne Eldridge

My review of HEARTFIELD will be from a vocal music perspective, with some general commentary about the musical as a whole.

I attended the production last Friday evening, the second night of its run. I had a small adventure trying to locate the theatre (my mapquest directions were wrong), and I ended up circling the Meyerhoff many times. The entrance to the theater is at the top of the stairs at 45 West Preston St. in Downtown Baltimore. The interior of the building will take you up into a loft - like building. The lobby was filled with artwork, which made good use of my waiting time. When I entered the theatre at 7:45, I noticed the stage was quite stark, with the exception of a piano (stage right), and a cabaret style stool, an artists easel (stage left), and a curtain which was a piece of gold cloth that had been designed to mimic the grand curtains in larger theatres. The space was cozy and intimate, which was perfect for the audience, which was very small.

The accompanist entered the stage wearing an old cabaret style piano man shirt with arm bands, which set us up in the early 1920's . The overture contained a ragtime rhythm and melody which started the production rolling. The performance contained narrations from Bertholt Brecht and Marlene Dietrich, played by Rohaizad Suaidi, and Liza Davies. Brecht began with a brief commentary that made us think about how we will perceive the show. The first production number, "Say No to Fascism" was performed as a 20's review number complete with flapper moves, such as the Charleston. The song gave me a feel for the distinctiveness of each character vocally. It was an up beat introduction to the program. The song, " We Can Change the World" contained a very tight harmony, and was one of the songs that I enjoyed most. It had a very clear message, and was strong enough to end the show, but instead sat in the middle of the first act. This was the song that allowed me to see the characters as musicians and not just singers. There was a clear balance between parts, although at times Johnny ( Hal Friedman ) was a bit overpowering. There was a great contrast in mood between "We Can Change the World", and the next song, "Want You?" which was one of the funniest of the musical. Lena ( Chelsea Jeane Zent) commented on the man she was having sex with, as the seductive choreography was performed flawlessly. Her voice had a twangy almost Betty Boop quality to it, which suited her character. Act one ended with the song "The Exiles Tango" which told the story of the group leaving Berlin and fleeing to other areas. The music in Act one took us through the 20's and 30's from Ragtime to Blues. The act ended with the photograph of Blood and Iron, and then a very audible silence.

 After a brief intermission Act II began with the song ," Not Getting Any Younger" which was a slower and more melodic start than in Act I. The song had the lingering themes in the piano from "Say No to Fascism". The chorus harmonies were heard as an echo between Johnny and the ensemble. The most beautiful song in Act II was the duet between the refugees in "Look at the Americans", the women blended beautifully, and the song fell well into their ranges. I did not find the same to be true in the song,"A Festa to Celebrate the Fall of the Fascists" and,"Unter den Linden" although it is unavoidable, these songs were a bit out of range for both of the performers ( Dietrich/Grosz). Grosz seemed to be pushing a bit and it made his intonation flatten out at the ends of his phrases. Dietrich has a very strong midrange, but looses support on the lower notes. Both of them were quite capable of carrying the song to hold the audience, it was in no way a bad presentation. The end of Act II "Still it Moves" shifts us into a bit of word painting ( using the music and words to paint a picture ). The Tenor Bass part moved slowly as the female voices were a bit more up tempo. This contrasting motion put us in a restless or unsettled mood. The music in Act two had some remnants from the Swing Era, and some Jazz/Blues were evident. When the Action progresses through time, so does the music.

Act III grabbed me right away with the song,"Nuclear Family" a stereotypical 50's portrayal set this act right into the future. The music has changed quite a bit from the beginning of the musical, and the characters have changed right along with it. The touching song, " Old friends" is an interesting retrospective on the distance that the group has traveled and the time that has passed. The finale of the show "Still it Moves reprise" contained some chilling harmonies. There was a clear 7th chord inversion that called out a strong dissonance as the last note of the show.

I endorse this musical as a great production for the older crowd ( 15 +) because of its sexual references, and a few bad words. I believe that an audience younger than that would also miss most of the important messages. The vocalists performed with a great amount of talent, I was most impressed with the acting performance by Rohaizad Suaidi ( Brecht ). His narratives were a true asset to this performance. The accompanist was outstanding and captured the mood of each era with pinpoint accuracy. Choreography and Staging was not overdone, and each number created a balance between the music, acting and dancing. My only wish for this production is a larger audience, so tell your friends!!