In the opening number for the showstopping new musical adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling book "High Fidelity," leading slacker Rob and his record store friends belt out "The Last Real Record Store," in homage to Rob's proudly independent, anti-corporate business.
The characters in "High Fidelity" are self-proclaimed music snobs for whom pop music is a personal insult. Yet in this latest film-to-Broadway creation, the musical itself is precisely what's popular with audiences today - the pop-rock musical, with a sound that recalls mainstream pop acts like Billy Joel.
While Hornby's novel features a nuanced look into post-modern masculinity, it is little wonder that the story's Broadway reincarnation is more like one of today's perfectly palatable romantic comedy films, told by attractive young blonde actors and with plenty of pop culture references.
A creation of the Tony Award-winning team Jeffrey Seller, Robyn Goodman and Kevin McCollum, of the hugely successful "Avenue Q," "High Fidelity" comes out strong on all the important points: booming sound, a flashy set, attractive actors and, most importantly, a throbbing soundtrack that's not too distinct from the radio staple, "American Top 40."
On its opening night at the Colonial Theatre in downtown Boston, the house was nearly full, with a mostly appreciative crowd. People roared with laughter at the well-timed gags, burst into applause at the animated and well-played flashback scenes and cooed over syrupy romantic moments.
Will Chase as Rob handles the pressure of the lead character well. Armed with boy-next-door good looks and energetic legs, he alternately leaps and slouches across the stage, singing louder, stronger and longer than the cast around him, who, although frequently pushed aside for Rob's moments, have ample talent in their own right.
In counterbalance to Rob stands Laura, his girlfriend/ex-girlfriend, whose breakup with Rob at the beginning of the show prompts some soul-searching. Rob's introspection results in several hilarious imagined scenes with old girlfriends, which he recounts in his "Desert Island Top 5 Break-Ups."
Jenn Colella, a tall, thin, attractive blonde, well embodies Laura, the woman that Rob can't shake from his mind, or his heart. She also spends several scenes in a small top and panties, or in fitted jeans and a low-cut top, outfits that inspired some noise from several men in the audience.
As for Ms. Colella's singing, like most of the rest of the cast, she sang well enough, although her performance wasn't inspiring. Also hindering the actors were microphones that were far too high, resulting at times with feedback and a physically uncomfortable sound level in the theater.
This unfortunate audio situation only further emphasized a surprising amount of bad pitch amongst the singers; at key moments in the show, like during Laura's opening ballad, "The Things We Could Have Been," the singer fell flat on the
climactic note.
Perhaps, however, "Fidelity"'s target audience is not the type to fret over musical details like pitches and harmonies - they'd rather be wowed by a dream sequence between Rob and a Bruce Springsteen impersonator (which all were wowed by).
If "High Fidelity"'s target audience isn't seeking high levels of musicality or vocal skills, what are they seeking? In the playbill, the show's playwright David Lindsay-Abaire notes that the show's target audience was, "not something the creative team thought much about."
"High Fidelity" is such a finely-crafted example of the pop-rock Broadway musical, it's hard to believe that the producers didn't have an audience in mind.
Like other top-selling musicals that have graced Broadway's theaters over the past several years, "High Fidelity" brings mainstream American popular music to the stage, drawing on the same fan base. It's no surprise that several of Broadway's recent top sellers have either been based on previously released popular music ("Movin' Out" from Billy Joel, "Mamma Mia" from ABBA), or on popular romantic comedy movies ("The Wedding Singer," "Legally Blonde").
While the much-anticipated revival of "A Chorus Line" opened last week on Broadway, in a throwback to the "old Broadway" musical, the top shows of Broadway are nonetheless moving more and more towards mainstream pop culture, in part due to Broadway's quest to maintain audiences and not be pushed out as an antiquated genre.
Rob and his friends in "High Fidelity" sing of "the last real record store" while they sound like radio hit-makers - a recipe, it would seem, for large-scale entertainment success.
