The Wrong Man
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Cititour.com Review
There may be some argument among friends over pop songwriter Ross Golan’s “The Wrong Man,” now premiering at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, but if loving the incredible Joshua Henry is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Simply put, Henry proves to be the perfect choice to anchor this slick 90-minute sung-through musical.
As Duran, an African-American man who is framed for the murder of two people, Henry is dynamite in every sense of the word – a barely contained explosive ready to ignite at any second. He exudes the part’s barely necessary sex appeal (helped in no small measure by a tight-fitting T-shirt) as well as enough vulnerability to make him appealing to both men and women. I imagine many audience members will relate to Duran, stuck in a pointless middle-management job, abandoned time and again by loved ones, looking for a chance at a better life, and painfully aware that he is “a work in progress.” Most of all, he wants “someone who sees me for me.” (Who doesn’t?)
Better still, all of this is expressed in Henry’s incredibly powerful, sometimes plaintive voice, which makes every word and note of Golan’s consistently tuneful, sometimes dense, occasionally simple-minded score (all of it heavily influenced by “Hamilton”) seem utterly important. Personally, I’d be happy to see the show move to Broadway (as has been rumored) if only to see Henry win a much-deserved Tony Award.
But here’s the rub. Despite “Hamilton” helmer Thomas Kail’s smooth-as-ice, minimalist staging, Travis Wall’s electric modern dance choreography (familiar to his fans from TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance,”) and the terpsichorean expertise of a thoroughly committed (and very flexible) ensemble – all of which help the show fly by easily and breezily -- it’s impossible not to eventually notice that there just isn’t all that much there. Ultimately, “The Wrong Man” is what “Les Miserables” would be if Jean Valjean had spent the entire time just bitching about being mistreated for stealing that loaf of bread.
Indeed, Golan doesn’t even bother to provide us with a Javert for conflict, never mind a Cosette, Eponine or Marius. The only female character of note is Marianna, the good-hearted cocktail waitress Duran hooks up with in a local bar, a meeting which leads to his eventual downfall. Sadly, she barely exists before Golan kills her – which is a double shame given the charisma of her portrayer, Ciara Renee. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Ryan Vasquez, who is somewhat less-than-convincing as “The Man in Black,” the amoral, arguably evil ex-boyfriend of Marianna whose nefarious actions lead to Duran’s downfall.
Moreover, in exploring Duran’s plight, one senses Golan is trying to make some argument about how social justice in America often equals injustice; for example, “The Man in Black” is white and gets off with a mere jail sentence for his misdeeds. But if Golan wants to make a true political statement with this show, there needs to be more than one line from a disinterested public defender to show how the poor don’t receive adequate counsel or some realistic explanation about why the Nevada government refuses a stay of execution for Duran.
I’m not expecting a civics lesson from a musical (although I admittedly learned a lot of American history from “Hamilton”). Nonetheless, Golan’s glossed-over approach to this important subject doesn’t, pardon the pun, do it – or “The Wrong Man” -- any justice.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://mcctheater.org/tix/the-wrong-man/
Cast
Joshua Henry, Ciara Renée, Ryan Vasquez, Anoop Desai, Tilly Evans-Krueger, Malik Kitchen, Libby Lloyd, Amber Pickens, Kyle Robinson, Debbie Christine Tjong, and Julius Williams
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/9/2019
Closing 11/17/2019
Theatre Info
Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space
511 W 52 Street
New York, NY 10019
Map
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