My overall impression
It’s a very “classic” kind of Broadway show for the Fringe, but it is also perfectly placed in a small, intimate theater — because the people in the story are small, ordinary people, and the view of their emotions on display is intimate and moving.
That said, the production has a surprising size, like one of those magic bags in Harry Potter that is small on the outside but surprisingly capacious on the inside. There are only four musicians on stage, but they sound like a full orchestra. There are a few chairs and tables, but they become a church social hall, an apartment, a pub, and, even a bus in motion.
The show is about the power of friendship in a time of intolerance, and the cast supports each other in an amazing way — there’s not a weak link in the cast. The way they sing together, taking over each other’s lines, songs, and themes, combined with the way Flaherty and Aherne’s music weaves in and out of the scenes, makes the show fly by — thanks to careful control of pacing and tone by the director. There are some beautiful numbers, but what you leave with is not a sense that you’ve seen a “stagey” musical where people were showing off their importance or hogging the spotlight. (Several of the characters in the play are guilty of this, but they are so funny doing it, and their director, the Man of the title, is so forgiving, that you can’t be cross.)
This is – and I mean this in the best way – a musical for people who don’t think they like musicals. No jazz hands; lots of actual feelings, presented with delicacy, wit, and grace.
