![]() ![]() Scenic designer Dane Laffrey does get into the spirit of the musical, though, creating a miniature train for Sam to ride, and a surrealistic backdrop: an aerial view of the city of Spokane, Wash., where the action takes place.Īmong the supporting actors, Jacob Keith Watson makes the biggest impression as a surly video store owner whom Sam - who comes to the store, looking for a job - manages to win over with his earnest charm. You might expect the songwriters to add some offbeat touches to mirror the oddness of the characters, but these are few and far between. The songs (music by Nolan Gasser, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein) are pleasantly melodic but a bit bland. Still, it has some good moments, mostly from Pinkham - the Tony nominee is a talented mimic and an even more gifted physical comedian - as the truly one-of-a-kind Sam, who glides through life creating magic and amusing everyone with whom he comes into contact.īryce Pinkham makes an unconventional entrance, in “Benny & Joon.” So the musical didn’t really work for me, as a story. It’s a truly disturbing segment that is at odds with all the cuteness that has come before. (Some psychological explanation is offered via a back story: He and Joon lost their parents in a car accident, and he is still reeling from that, emotionally, and determined to keep Joon safe, any way he can.)ĭeep into the second act, the reality about Joon’s affliction is finally depicted, and the menschy Benny snaps. This makes Benny’s obsessive caretaking seem like overprotectiveness, and his insistence on sabotaging his own chance at romantic happiness, with Ruthie, seem bizarre. Guenther goes light on Joon’s problems at first, presenting her as quirky rather than truly troubled. As a result, this “Benny & Joon” ultimately seems too contrived to be fully satisfying. It’s too much for one mortal writer to pull off. And she’s also got to sustain the film’s whimsical tone (which inevitably seems even more whimsical in the context of a stage musical) while also taking Joon’s mental illness seriously. She’s got to keep four likeable, well-meaning characters from finding happiness too quickly. “Benny & Joon” is, essentially, a romantic comedy, so there must be obstacles to be resolved.īook writer Kirsten Guenther - adapting the 1993 film that was written by Barry Berman and Leslie McNeil and co-starred Mary Stuart Masterson, Johnny Depp and Aidan Quinn (and was something of a cult success) - has a delicate balancing act to perform. So we should be on the fast track to a happy ending, right? Right?" By Maureen Dowd, June 28, 1987.Meanwhile, Joon’s older brother Benny (Claybourne Elder), a garage owner and operator who has devoted much of his life to taking care of her, meets Ruthie (Tatiana Wechsler), an ex-actress (now working as a waitress) with car troubles, and a heart of gold.īoth couples seem perfect for and totally enamored with each other. “I unabashedly, unashamedly, unequivocally support the explosion of entrepreneurs in the capitalist system.” “Some people have a perfect genius for doing nothing, and doing it assiduously.” Instead of learning to walk, you learn to play the piano.” “I got started when I was 3 years old because my father was a music teacher and my lessons were free. “Aesthetic judgments, rather than abstract reasoning, guide and shape the process by which we all come to know what we know.” “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” ![]() ![]() “Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed.” “Derek Bok asks the right question, 'What policies would produce the greatest happiness?' and he gives great and often startling answers, combining his deep knowledge of politics with the new findings of happiness research.” “If we seek merely swollen, slothful ease and ignoble peace, if we shrink from the hard contests where men must win at the hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they hold dear, then bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by, and will win for themselves the domination of the world.” ![]()
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