When soprano Lauren Michelle, in the guise of the hapless, pregnant Irina, begins the opening verse of “Trouble Man,” the otherwise stentorian rhythms of “Lost in the Stars” suddenly take on a becoming urgency. Irina is helpless to stop her lover, Absalom, from pursuing a disastrous course, an impending tragedy amplified both by her solemn bearing and her words.
In two poignant solos — the other being the marvelous "Stay Well" — Michelle manages to evoke all the gentle and heavier sorrows of this 1949 musical drama, set in a racially torn South Africa that contains echoes of the United States' own history of racial turmoil. Yet her affecting interludes prove to be exceptions in the Washington National Opera's dramatically inert revival of the Kurt Weill-Maxwell Anderson show, based on Alan Paton's popular novel "Cry, the Beloved Country."
Opera and Broadway have long been establishing beachheads on each other’s turf. Two such crossovers are occurring simultaneously in Washington. Just as the WNO is looking to Broadway — where “Lost in the Stars” has had a fairly limited history — Olney Theatre Center is this week unveiling a world premiere of an “Afro-Cuban jazz” adaptation of the Bizet opera “Carmen.” To mark the moment, classical music critic Anne Midgette and I decided to do some crossing over ourselves, offering up reviews of both productions from the distinct perspectives of our own beats.
And from the vantage point of musical theater, the WNO’s exceedingly somber “Lost in the Stars” comes across as more noble than compelling. The musical’s conciliatory tone is commendable, but a dramatic journey to understanding requires more than honorable intentions. The story needs more cohesion, and the characters must radiate a vibrancy an audience can invest in. Here, with the exception of Michelle’s Irina and the little boy, Alex, played at Friday’s performance in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater by Caleb McLaughlin (who makes a smashing impression, singing “Big Mole”), there’s a lack of dimensionality to both the characters and the performances.
The moral hub of the story belongs to Stephen Kumalo, the black preacher who travels to Johannesburg in search of his son Absalom (Manu Kumasi), who, Stephen learns, has been charged with the murder of a young white man (Paul Scanlan), an acquaintance of his. The role of Stephen is played by celebrated opera singer Eric Owens, who does not quite convert the impassioned command of his galvanizing bass-baritone into a fully integrated dramatic portrayal. While he delivers a masterly version of the title song, his dialogue scenes all seem to land on one similar note, and his habit of gazing down at his outstretched hands to communicate pain, anger, despair and powerlessness renders the gesture a distraction.
Theater director and playwright Tazewell Thompson, who works regularly at Arena Stage and elsewhere, gives us a dreary environment for “Lost in the Stars”: a metaphorical prison of rust-colored, corrugated steel walls, devised by set and costume designer Michael Mitchell. Thompson skillfully reveals how the racial divide plays out in this harsh landscape through some well-handled musical stagings of the choral numbers, especially in the opening song, “The Hills of Ixopo,” presided over by tenor Sean Panikkar, playing a character identified simply as the Leader.
Still, the production cannot shake off a certain sense of starchy formality, a stiffness that holds the humane concerns of Weill and Anderson’s effort forever at arm’s length.
Lost in the Stars, music by Kurt Weill, book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. Directed by Tazewell Thompson. Conductor, John DeMain; sets and costumes, Michael Mitchell. About 2 hours and 40 minutes. Through Saturday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Visit kennedy-center.org or call 202-467-4600.
