On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Irish Repertory Theatre, NYC, July 28, 2018

Reviewed by Chip Deffaa for Cabaret Scenes

Oh, I’m counting my blessings that I got to see Melissa Errico and Stephen Bogardus in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever at the Irish Repertory Theatre. This is one of the most enjoyable shows I’ve ever  seen at the Irish Rep—which is saying plenty. (My other favorite Irish Rep productions were Finian’s Rainbow, which they mounted twice—both times starring Melissa Errico—and Shining City and The Seafarer, both starring Matthew Broderick.) I wish they could record a cast album of this production, as they did with their production of Finian’s Rainbow.

I’ve always liked seeing Bogardus and Errico on stage, both separately and together. (They costarred on Broadway in Cole Porter’s High Society and that was good fun; lots of  songs. But I like this show more; the storyline is more intriguing and surprising. Bogardus and Errico are also playing more interesting and nuanced  characters here. And they’ve grown as performers since they did High Society; they have more to give to us now. Their talents are put to very good use here. 

On a Clear Day... features music by Burton Lane, and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Charlotte Moore has adapted and directed the show. Ciarán O’Reilly is the producer. I was hooked from the very first bit of singing heard in the show—the ensemble giving us a taste of the title number, and that’s got to be about the best-sounding ensemble in any New York show, on or off-Broadway right now, with pure, well-matched, well-blended voices. No microphones are used—or are needed—in this production. You can really savor the natural beauty of human voices. I was hooked, too, by Jim Morgan’s airy scenic design—as appealing and appropriate as any he’s ever created. With his Chagall-like designs, he made the theater feel bigger than it actually is.

In additional to the well-known title song (which I’ve always liked), the score also features such memorable numbers as “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?” and “Come Back to Me.” The latter, filled with drama, is a solo number for Bogardus and it showcases him as well as any song I’ve ever seen him perform on stage—and I’ve sure seen him in plenty of shows over the years, from Mugs Money to Les Miz, to Man of La Mancha, to Bright Star, to name a few off the top of my head.  

“Come Back to Me” is an exceptional song. It is wordy in an ever-surprising way. The singer/actor has a lot to put across. Not a syllable must be missed. And the energy must be maintained as the lyrics are  punched out: “Hear my voice, where you are/Take a train steal a car/Hop a freight, grab a star/Come back to me… In a crate, in a trunk/On a horse, on a junk/In a road or a van, wrapped in mink or saran/Anyway that you can/Come back to me.” Terrific lyrics and immediately identifiable to any true musical-theater aficionado as the work of Alan Jay Lerner. Every top writer has his own distinct style, and that song has “Lerner” stamped all over it. (As Bogardus was putting it over, I could “hear” in my head how wonderful he would be, singing Lerner & Loewe’s “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?” from My Fair Lady. He’d make a tremendous Henry Higgins. Someone ought to cast him in a production of that show. And, no, he’s not too old; Rex Harrison starred in a successful Broadway revival min his 70s.
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One minor complaint. The staging of “Come Back to Me” was just a bit busier than I think is ideal for that song. When there is so much going on in a song—in terms of music, lyrics, and drama, and you have an actor who can command the stage (as Bogardus clearly can), you don’t need to have the actor physically move quite so much; it dissipates some of the power that can be projected simply standing in place for key passages., and it can be distracting.

Errico, whom I loved in two Irish-Rep productions of Finian’s Rainbow (in 2004 and 2016), and in a Broadway revival of My Fair Lady, among many other credits, is warm and quirky, funny and endearing as the gal (Daisy Gamble) with ESP whom Bogardus falls for. That voice of hers is immensely appealing.  

John Cudia, who’s starred in both The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables on Broadway, effectively plays the rake, Edward Montcrief. I wish I had room to discuss every member of the ensemble, because not only does each carefully-selected cast member sing well, each seems a distinct personality. I was happy to spot in the ensemble Will Bellamy, whom I’d enjoyed in Finian’s Rainbow. And I look forward to seeing/hearing more of Florrie Bagel—new to me—but with a ripe voice I liked a lot.
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 Gary Adler conducted a five-piece orchestra (orchestration by Josh Clayton): piano, violin, cello, harp, and clarinet/sax. 

There’s much to appreciate here, with a lot of talent in that intimate jewel-box of a theater. And On a Clear Day... Is, at heart, an intimate musical.
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 It never needed the huge productions it’s been given on Broadway.   

The Irish Rep’s production is set to run through September 9. I hope it gets held over. It’s a delight.