Review of: Happy End

LoveMusik, the current Broadway musical is about the lifelong love affair between Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. To a lesser extent, it's also about the collaborative efforts of Weill and Bertolt Brecht. In a happy coincidence, Theater Ten Ten is reviving one of their more successful collaborations Happy End (written in 1929, it follows their masterpiece The Threepenny Opera).

Happy End billed as a musical about gangsters, sinners and saviors is something of a lighter version of Threepenny (or a darker version of Loesser's Guys and Dolls to which it owes more than a passing reference). Based on the original German play by Dorothy Lane (actually a pseudonym for Elizabeth Hauptmann and Brecht), Happy End possesses the fundamental nature of their collaborations: the ravishing music of Weill counterpoised with the satiric, anti-capitalist lyrics of Brecht.

Set in Chicago in the winter of 1919, the play opens with the Lady in Gray (aka the Fly) and her main henchman, Bill Cracker on their home turf, Bill's Beer Hall. After singing their anthem "God Bless Rockefeller", the thugs set about preparing to dispose of their rival gang, the Baxley clan. Different plans are rehearsed ("The Bilbao Song") as directed by top dog Dr. Nakamura ("the Governor"). The Salvation Army arrives led by Lieutenant Lillian Holiday ("Hallelujah Lil") and sets about trying to reform the mob. Lil is soon alone with Cracker whom she takes on as a personal assignment ("The Sailors' Tango"). However, she is soon drunk and found in a somewhat compromising position with Cracker (Brecht is at his derisive best here as the two debate God and morality). On the other front, the Lady in Gray and her rogues' gallery are planning a big heist on Christmas Eve with Bill as the linchpin courier.

Act II opens with Lil asking for pardon and re-admittance into the Salvation Army from Major Stone (a wonderful Cristiane Young). Because she is the most dynamic evangelist, the Major eventually relents. Meanwhile, Dr. Nakamura and another gangster Johnny "Baby Face" Flint are planning a coup against the Lady and Bill (the showstopper "Song of the Big Shot" with its glorious refrain 'Don't Get Soft, Baby'). Despite being needed for the upcoming bank robbery, Bill visits the "Sallie" obviously smitten with Lil as the members sing the temperance ballad "The Liquor Dealer's Dream". The robbery is a failure due to Bill's absence.

Back at Bill's Beer Hall, the Fly is planning to kill Cracker for botching the bank job. At the Army, Lil sing a torch song over Bill (the famous "Surabaya Johnny"). Soon, through a series of circumstances (rather far-fetched) all loose ends are tied together including the reformation of the Lady in Gray and the play "ends happily".

Despite the tinny acoustics of Theater Ten Ten's playing space (an auditorium in a church basement) and lack of ample playing space (bringing the Salvation Army into the audience is a neat idea, though), the show has a lot going for it. The adaptation of both book and lyrics by the Village Voice's Michael Feingold maintains the essential sardonic crackle that Brecht/Weill needs. The cast's over all energy never flags even if some of the performers falter in acting or singing. Several actors also play the instruments used for the music (ala Broadway's Company) to great effect. Joe Piscopo as Bill Cracker brings the prerequisite sinister disrepute to the character and does an admirable job of talk/singing. Lorinda Lisitza is excellent as Hallelujah Lil although her voice gets a tad strident at times. In addition to the above mentioned Ms. Young, Greg Horton as Dr. Nakamura (he also plays the trombone) and Timothy McDonough as Baby Face Flint (also playing guitar) stand out in the generally first-rate ensemble. Director David Fuller (formerly artistic director of the defunct Jean Cocteau Theater and having directed Threepenny Opera there several seasons ago) gives the audience just enough of the "alienation effect" that Brecht championed. His video of the botched robbery is a highlight of the evening. While the refrain from "The Bilbao Song", "It was Fantastic" certainly describes the music for Happy End; it could be used to describe the production itself.

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