Theater Review: The Story Of My Life

The Story Of My Life is a musical that follows two childhood friends as they attempt to define themselves as individuals within the context of their close bond. One wavers in his commitment to the friendship while the other struggles to hold on as his friend slips further from his grasp.

While the show represents the Broadway debut of writing team Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, it is directed expertly by Tony Award-winner Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain't Misbehavin', Fosse, Ring of Fire). Will Chase and Malcolm Gets star in the only lead roles, playing ages six to thirty-five. Gets plays slightly odd and whimsical bookstore owner Alvin Kelby who remains in their home town; Chase is the career-focused best-selling author Thomas Weaver.

At times both actors veered towards an almost caricature-like interpretation that threatened to disengage the audience, sheltering and restraining a true look into the characters' private thoughts and moments. However, this was tempered with touching moments as the men attempt to demonstrate affection and closeness within the binding confines of a traditional masculine construct. The milieu of their relationship played strikingly against the production's set, and the symbolism woven through between the animate and inanimate was profound. The set's Spartan, monochromatic design was cleverly presented, counterbalancing the visual risks taken in such a simplistic setup with only two players.

When the friendship comes to a premature end, Tom struggles to come to terms with his role in its dissolution and how to handle the multi-faceted guilt he carries for having—in his estimation—sacrificed his personal relationships to achieve a sort of surface fame that Alvin, the more naturally gifted storyteller of the two, never attained. This realization shakes Tom to the core, and he becomes determined to prove that his fame is warranted, but, in the end, he finds he reconcile himself to the fact that Alvin had been his inspiration. Perhaps he had spent so much time writing their story that it was a surrogate for the real relationship

The play runs full circle, and, on the surface, neatly resolves itself. But the play leaves the audience with many unanswered questions and the stark realization that there is much in life that cannot be undone, no matter how many rewrites one attempts.

The Story Of My Life began its Broadway run on February 3 at the Booth Theatre and will open February 19.

Tags:   broadway, review, show, story of my life, theater, theatre

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Posted on 2/6/2009 ( Permanent Link )
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