WANNABE 'FAMOUS'
Soft take on rock tale not much to Crowe about
AT the start of “Almost Famous,” which opened last night on Broadway, the frontman of the fictional rock band Stillwater, Jeff Bebe, barks backstage in San Diego that a young Rolling Stone reporter in their midst is “the enemy!”
Under the bright lights of 45th Street, though, the greatest foe of the musical “Almost Famous” is most definitely the film “Almost Famous.”
Cameron Crowe’s 2000 comedy is a quirky, coming-of-age cinematic gem, which won him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Our fond memories of it — manic-pixie-dream-girl Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand announcing “My son has been kidnapped by rock stars!” — are a persistent thorn in the stage version’s side.
Those classic bits are all here, yes, but they’re a wisp of the original. British director Jeremy Herrin, who should stick to plays and steer clear of Stratocasters, composerlyricist Tom Kitt and book writerlyricist Crowe do not present a compelling case for why the film must be a Broadway musical. It’s pleasant, sweet and passes the time, but should that be enough?
‘Almost,’ not quite
Near the end of the show, Sapphire, a member of an elite clique of groupies called the Band Aids, observes that 20 years on, they’ll all remember their time with groovy leader Penny Lane. Perhaps. But the audience completely forgets about “Almost Famous” the musical by 43rd Street.
Semi-autobiographical, Crowe’s stand-in is William Miller (Casey Likes), a meek 15-year-old in 1973 San Diego with a domineering mom and a rebellious sister who encourages his love of rock groups, like The Who. He dabbles in music journalism, and gets a chance to interview Black Sabbath for his mentor Lester Bangs’ (Rob Colletti, a funny crank) Creem magazine.
It’s on that fateful assignment when he meets Stillwater, a middleof-the-road band that William obsesses over. Even though the guys sneer that the kid is the enemy, he weasels his way backstage by flattering them — and they welcome him into their ragtag family.
That’s dangerous. In the back of William’s mind is hardened Bangs’ No. 1 piece of advice: “Don’t make friends with the rock stars.” Wideeyed Willy does anyway. And soon he’s assigned by Rolling Stone, who assumes he’s much older, to follow Stillwater on tour for a 3,000-word story. Can he deliver something deeper than a puff piece?
He also gets his first taste of love with Penny Lane (Solea Pfeiffer), a free spirit who is also sort of dating Russell Hammond (Chris Wood), Stillwater’s evasive guitarist.
The plot, exactly the same as the film’s, is not the problem. Coming of age works well in musicals. The No. 1 issue, as it so often is, is Broadway vs. rock ‘n’ roll.
Real rock songs from the film’s soundtrack, such as Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” are back. Paired with Kitt’s sappy, Smooth FM score, they stick out like an oboe in Metallica.
Kitt has decided on a musical theater soundscape for when characters are offstage to contrast the headbanging. That makes sense. But tunes “Lost in New York City” and “Listen to Me” have even less edge than his faux-rock music for “Next to Normal.”
Lyrics by Crowe and Kitt are dismal. When Russell and Penny duet on “The Night-Time Sky’s Got Nothing on You,” the married rocker praises, “The way you turn a hotel room into a home.” What is this? A musical or a Marriott ad?
Penny, played capably but not magically by Pfeiffer, also has a clunker about her dream of moving to Morocco.
As William’s mother, Elaine, Anika Larsen is eerily like McDormand in voice and mannerism. The actress does nothing wrong, but lacks McDormand’s electric unpredictability.
And the members of Stillwater — Wood as Hammond and Drew Gehling as Bebe are most visible — get most of the gags, yet they shrewdly avoid going full Spinal Tap. It’s not the fault of Wood and Pfeiffer that their characters’ notso-secret romance drags down the show and feels B-side the point.
Like for Likes
They all inhabit Derek McLane’s overly straightforward set. Like the scenery, lights by Natasha Katz are more Broadway than rock concert.
Keeping “Famous” from faceplanting is its best find, newcomer Likes. Of course, the 20-year-old actor is helped along by a naturally endearing role, but he plays the part more eagerly than Patrick Fugit did in the film and he has a wonderful voice. His number “No Friends,” in which his lonely character wrestles with a desire to be a good journalist and his deeper craving for companionship, is the show’s only good new song.
If there is one thing that makes “Almost Famous” come alive, it’s watching two coming-of-age stories play out at once: One, about a young journalist figuring out his future. The other, about an exciting new Broadway actor stepping out onto the boards.