I feel like a bit of an outlier with my class, as I actually did partially enjoy the original The Curious Case of Benjamin Button short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Obviously there are things that aged poorly (as it is over 100 years old), but it was the idea of a life lived in reverse that really stuck with me. So, I was very eager and curious (haha) to see how it would be adapted into a musical. All I knew was that it was very different from the short story, so I was going in blind.
I did not expect to love it as much as I did.
Let me explain. I didn’t expect it to be bad. I almost never go into things expecting them to be bad unless the overwhelming public opinion is that whatever I’m going to see is bad. All the good words I had been told about this show from our professors were absolutely true and warranted.
I love the idea of time. I love the idea of the ocean. I love the idea of home. What I especially love is how the musical combines all of these ideas, relates them, and makes them almost interchangeable. Water flows. Time flows. Your idea of home flows. These concepts all share the same heart, which I think this adaptation taps into perfectly.
I liked how, rather than having different actors portray Benjamin’s ages, it was the same actor the whole time (well, except for when he was a literal baby). This allowed the character development to really flow and blend together in a way using multiple actors might not have.
This blog post probably makes no sense, which is because I think I’m still processing this musicals effect on me. It takes me a long time to sit with things till I can fully comprehend all of my feelings. Maybe I’ll come back through and edit this! Check back with me in a few months.
PS: There is always time.
Theatre in London U of A 