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Past Reviews Off Broadway Reviews |
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Written in 1965, Clear Day tells the story of Daisy Gamble, a young woman who can make flowers grow and knows when the phone is about to ring. Daisy's about to get married but her fiancĂ©, Warren Smith, insists she give up smoking to impress his corporate bosses. Unable to quit on her own, Daisy goes to a psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Bruckner, to give hypnotism a try, but when Dr. Bruckner hypnotizes Daisy she regresses into a past life inhabited by Melinda Wells, an 18th century English aristocrat who died under mysterious circumstances following a tempestuous affair with painter Edward Moncrief. Naturally, Bruckner is fascinated by Daisy's extra-sensory perception and slowly finds himself falling in love with Melinda. Comedy ensues. Or at least Lane and Lerner hoped it would. The original Broadway run wasn't well received and ran for eight months due largely to the star turn of Barbra Harris whose fantastic portrayal of Daisy/Melinda is still spoken about in effusive tones by those lucky enough to have seen her. The book was always considered a hot mess, but, in fairness to the score, there are some rhapsodically beautiful songs contained within it, such as "She Wasn't You," "Melinda," "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" (a hit for Eydie Gorme in 1966) and the haunting title song, "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever." In 2000, City Center ENCORES! resuscitated Clear Day with Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Friedman and Brent Barrett and, though musically gorgeous, the shortcoming's in Lerner's mishmash of a book were glaringly apparent. The less said about Michael Mayer's ill-advised 2011 Broadway revival starring Harry Connick, Jr.—a disastrous debacle which shuttered after less than two months—the better! Daisy Gamble became David Gamble, a gay florist, who, when regressed by Dr. Bruckner, became Melinda, a sexy jazz singer embodied by Jessie Mueller. David's in love with his doctor, but his doctor is falling in love with Melinda. It was an interesting idea, but Mayer and his cast didn't have the courage of their convictions to embrace the gay plot elements and the revival imploded.
At least Errico is ably supported onstage by Stephen Bogardus as Dr. Bruckner and John Cudia as Edward Moncrief. Broadway veteran Bogardus, still fit and handsome, does what he can with the material and sings with the same clarion tenor he's wielded for decades. For his part, the sexy Cudia plays the rake with panache and his golden voice climbs into the stratosphere at the climax of "She Wasn't You." It's wonderful to hear all three principals, as well as the ensemble, sing unamplified and Josh Clayton's savvy orchestrations for the 5-piece ensemble are a passable substitution considering the Rep's means and circumstances. The rest of the production, including some very questionable costuming and two cringe-worthy production numbers, needs our sympathy and not our condemnation.
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
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