By Tina Hawley
A Wall Apart was first performed at the New York Musical Theater Festival in 2017, then as a concert version at the Grand Theatre in 2018, but this year marks the world premiere of this all-new original rock musical as a fully-staged production at the Grand in Salt Lake City. With an original score from Air Supply’s Lord Graham Russell and a script by Sam Goldstein and Craig Clyde, A Wall Apart arrives just ahead of the 30th anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall this November, an event beautifully retold through the play’s songs and characters. The blast of sound as the overture kicked in made me realize that this show wasn’t going to be what I expected, and that I didn’t mind at all.
A Wall Apart focuses on three brothers: an officer, an artist, and one caught in between. There isn’t much political detail in the plot. Rather, it rightfully focuses on the people who suffered and sacrificed during this time, instead of the rationalizations that led to their circumstances. The Berlin Wall stood for 28 years, a timespan difficult to cover in a three-hour production. However, the production team features multiple New York designers and artists flown in for the occasion, and it shows.
New York director Keith Andrews is intensely involved with the original creative team, and his vision is well-realized in the Grand’s black box. Costumes by Shannon McCullock are colorful or subdued as required, shifting almost unnoticeably, yet accurately, from 60s to 80s styles. Adam Day’s sound design blends radio narration and shouting crowds in with the music. Scenic and lighting designer David Goldstein surrounds the audience with hulking bunkers, red lights, and spinning shadows, sharing the characters’ fear as the East German government looms over them. As the story develops, D. Goldstein’s lighting enhances and syncs perfectly with the music, be it toe-tapping or soulful.
And such music! Russell’s original songs are brought to life by a live five-man band: Jonathan Ivie as musical director, conductor, and keyboardist, Jonni Lightfoot on bass, Jeff Alleman on guitar, David Evanoff on drums, and Bryan Hague on second guitar. Lightfoot delivers a blood-pumping guitar solo during “Shake It,” and the players’ body language shouts their enthusiasm. With Andrews’ choreography, the actors explore the entire stage—including stairs and audience members—getting up close and personal. The energy behind the ensemble’s beats, moves, and synchronization is palpable. It’s like getting struck by lighting backed by a bass guitar. The energetic score celebrates the joy of life, but it does slow down when the darker story elements call for it, showing a true understanding on Russell’s part of how emotion is tied to music. And I haven’t even talked about the principle actors yet.
The middle brother Kurt (Michael Scott Johnson) is harder to pin down. Kurt isn’t sure who he is or who he wants to be. His introduction as a womanizer gives way to awkwardness, especially around Esther (Ginger Bess). Johnson gives Kurt’s inner conflict a voice, in dialogue and song, and his chemistry with Bess blossoms in the second act, a feat considering they’re talking from opposite sides of the Wall. Over time, Bess as Esther visibly matures from a girl to a woman whose love easily spans three decades.
Suzanne, Mickey’s eventual wife, is encapsulated in Ashlyn Anderson. When Suzanne is happy (and when she is sad), Anderson’s expressive features shine with emotion. Mary Fanning Driggs as the brothers’ witty and affectionate aunt, Tanté Ostermann, is the sort of rock Germany was built on. During “Forlorn Fraulein,” as Tanté, Mickey, Hans, and Kurt move closer to each other, their gradual formation into a solid unit is entirely her doing. Mickey and Suzanne’s son, Mickey Jr., is no less memorable for his late entrance; John Patrick McKenna crafts a three-dimensional character in the space of a scene or two.
My mother, who attended the production with me, visited Germany as an exchange student, once before the Wall came down, and once after. She describes watching live footage of the Wall coming down in the same transfixed way others describe watching the 9/11 terrorist attack, except that the predominant emotion is joy rather than fear. A Wall Apart’s portrayal of this historic day is no less striking for its minimalist reproduction, as the cast tear apart the “Wall” spanning the stage with their bare hands just as the Germans did, throwing boards and chairs across the room as long-separated family and friends are reunited—a powerful image that won’t leave my mind any time soon.
This play’s slogan is “Make Love, Not Walls.” The creative team of A Wall Apart began their work long before their subject matter became so relevant, and thanks to that, the premiere of this production could not come at a timelier moment. The Grand Theatre should be commended for taking a chance on it. The music, acting, and production design are all high-quality, but the Ostermanns’ story makes you question the world and believe in love. Tickets are selling fast, so I beg you, do not miss out on this chance to see the Berlin Wall built and torn down in a night. If only the real one had come down so easily.
The Grand Theatre Foundation Presents A Wall Apart, Music and Lyrics by Lord Graham Russell, Book by Sam Goldstein and Craig Clyde in collaboration with Keith Andrews.
The Grand Theatre, 1575 S State St, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
August 15 – September 7, 2019, 7:30 PM
Get Tickets: $12-$23, no children under 5
The Grand Theatre Website
The Grand Theatre Facebook Page
A Wall Apart Facebook Event
I was there. It was FANTASIC.
The last word in my comment above ahould be FANTASTIC. I did a typo, and I’m not able to edit it.
It was really incredible it has lots emotion and passion and actually had me up dancing in the isles at times.
The cast performed it well.