A New Brain
The Studio Theatre
14th and P Streets, NW
(202) 332-3300
www.studiotheatre.org

A New Brain is a feel good musical from the heart meant to inspire and encourage—and that is just what it does.

Review by Richard See

Studio Theatre’s A New Brain is a piece of happy, inspiring theatre for Washington, D.C. audiences during these times of heightened airport security and terrorist alerts. You might think that a play based upon a rare brain disorder, where the main character falls into a coma, might be emotionally wrenching and not something that lends itself to a musical format. Not so! William Finn, Tony Award winning author of Falsettos, takes us on an energetic and uplifting journey in this semi-autobiographical piece, based upon his own brush with the brain illness arterio-venous malformation. A New Brain is the author’s attempt to show the gratitude and joy he felt at simply being alive after his life threatening surgery.

Director Serge Seiden approaches his subject and cast without a heavy hand, giving the actors and the material, room to grow and develop. This approach seems to have worked, as all the actors seem to enjoy the music and the script, giving each one hundred percent.

As the story unfolds, Gordon Schwinn (played by Tony Award winning Broadway veteran and Helen Hayes nominee Michael Rupert) is attempting to fulfill his commitment to finish a song for The Mr. Bungee Show—a Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood-like children’s show, hosted by the friendly frog Mr. Bungee, who dresses in a checkered suit and rides a scooter. Mr. Bungee (played by Buzz Mauro), while a loveable frog in television land, is in reality a hard hitting, obnoxious actor/producer who wants ratings and rhyming songs—not art and introspection. Gordon is having a hard time completing the songs and feels he is corrupting his talent and his soul. Meanwhile, Mr. Bungee, not known for his patience, is threatening to can him from the assignment, even after Gordon enters the hospital for an MRI to see why he suddenly lost consciousness while eating lunch with his cynical friend and manager Rhoda (Mary Jayne Raleigh).

As the story progresses we see that Gordon, who is a bit of a whiner, is at a cross roads in his relationships with his mother, his lover, and himself. His mother (Judy Simmons) is an unrelenting optimist, Roger (William Gartshore) is a romantic sailor, and the real Gordon is a sensitive artist. But at the point where we meet him Gordon has lost his confidence, feels that he is wasting his time songwriting, is an avowed pessimist, and hates sailing. It’s through a series of real, imagined, and hallucinated scenes that Gordon eventually comes back, literally and metaphorically, when he realizes just what is most important in his life and why.

Like any good musical, A New Brain has moments of pure humor and instances of great emotion and the Studio cast shines throughout the production. Will Gartshore plays Roger as an unshakable lover, even when Gordon foolishly chooses Mr. Bungee over himself. Judy Simmons brings both brassiness and touching warmth to her role as Mimi Schwinn, Gordon’s mother. Mary Jayne Raleigh’s Rhoda is a tough talking yet concerned friend who is out of water without her cell phone. Andrea Frierson-Toney plays the Homeless Lady with a gusto and sincerity that makes the role come alive. When Kristy Glass’s Waitress announces her love for Mr. Bungee it catches you off guard and is very funny. Scott Leonard Fortune’s Richard "The Nice Night Nurse" is a treat. Buzz Mauro seems to relish being the villainous Mr. Bungee. And Eric Lee Johnson and Duncan Hood fill out the cast with exceptional voices.

Daniel Conway’s set has a stylized, 1950’s type of linear quality to it, which Michael Giannitti’s lighting plays off of very well. The Easy-Bake Oven/MRI scene was quite inspired. The live music by Jay Crowder and the four-man band brought the toe tapping score to life.

A New Brain is a feel good musical from the heart meant to inspire and encourage—and that is just what it does.

A New Brain now playing at the Studio Theatre uhas extended by one week and is now closing on Sunday, December 30, 2001. Music and lyrics are by William Flinn; Book is by James Lapine and William Flinn. For tickets call 202-332-3300.