The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen, and a truly perfectly wildly different adaption of the original F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. I say perfectly different as it completely deviated from the short stories in all of the right ways. With the difference in location, characters, the addition of music, the time period, and the overall message, mood, and ending of the show, it was highly impactful and left me with the feeling that this will without a doubt be the best show I see on this trip.
First off – the set transported me into the world of Cornwall immediately. The pre show sounds of seagulls and waves were a perfect touch, and made it so clear that we were on a coastal town – and not just for no good reason – this deviation from the original text made so much sense in the context of the musical as a whole. The music and lyrics mirrored the setting perfectly, as it was (and our very own Claire Wewers put this perfectly today at the museum), almost a sea shanty sound, with a folky twist. Obviously went well with the setting, but also with the whole tone of the show – this sort of naturalistic and perfectly whole meaning made a lot of sense with the context and sound and feeling of the entire score. It was genuinely just beautiful.
My particular favorite part of going to musicals is hearing the different voices and seeing what I think about the different ways people might be trained, or what their background in the voice may have been before they got to this particular show. As soon as the first note was sung in this show, I was stunned and shocked and so content – the voices worked so well together. They sounded so simple, so fresh!!! This group had an incredible sense of togetherness and that showed through their work as actors and as singers and especially as musicians, as they were all simultaneously the singers and the orchestra. This was incredibly impressive and added so so much value to the production.
I could not stop thinking about this musical – my voice teacher and I even went on and on and on about how beautiful we both think it is, as she read the synopsis and listened to the cast album. We talked about how even though we wish it would come to America, we both agreed that the setting of the UK and the audiences here probably receive this musical much better, and that there is almost nothing that could make this production even sweeter. It was wholesome, haunting, and devastatingly real. Hearing Elowen sing about how she still has time, and then dying in the next scene, but only after finally seeing the moon landing together at last with Benjamin, was an absolutely overwhelming and crushing moment. This show made me feel every feeling, which was very different from the short story, which had no real “meat”. This adaptation was full of it. I wish I could see it every week!
Theatre in London U of A 