Andy Blankenbuehler, famed choreographer of Hamilton, has directed and choreographed a new show, Bandstand, that opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre April 26th. The musical stars Corey Cott as Danny Novitski, a WWII veteran and musician, and Laura Osnes as Julia Trojan, a WWII widow and singer. Somehow they’re lives get tangled together, and they form a swing band that enters a competition to be on the radio and in a movie–and of course, they fall in love.
Although this musical seems like every other post-War World II 1940s swing romance you’ve ever seen, it is much more than just surface. The musical tries very hard to explore deeper issues like PTSD, suicide, survivor’s guilt, patriotism, unemployment for Veterans, and the capitalistic appropriation of soldiers. Throughout the musical, it tackles these themes, often to mixed results. For example, at several points, there are shadow casts for the main band members/veterans, with the shadow dancers still in combat uniforms and repeatedly acting out traumatic memories of battle. At one point there is a scene/dance sequence of a veteran building and rebuilding his gun over and over. One character constantly takes medication for his multiple spine and brain injuries (somehow this one is supposed to be more of a joke than a commentary).
Overall, the show works hard to be more than your average 1940s fun musical. However, it is the serious parts of the piece that feel forced and out of place. The fun songs, the dance numbers, and the band’s original songs, jazz solos, and belted choruses are what keeps the show moving and the audience interested. The main reason that the serious interludes don’t work is that for the most part they aren’t written into the script. They seem mostly to be part of Blankenbuehler’s vision, executed unsurprisingly through dancers, movement sequences, and scene transitions. The result feels like there is a depressing ballet piece happening amidst a very fun musical and that the two never really seem to connect.
The major anomaly to this flaw–and therefore the strongest and clearest part of the show–is when the band sings in the final round of the competition. Instead of singing a happy swing song they decide to sing a serious and depressing ballad that Jane wrote the lyrics to (inspired by her poetry where she writes about being a widow) and Danny wrote the music to. The song, “Welcome Home” is Laura Osnes’ one great moment to shine. She sings emotional lyrics about how everyone “welcomes home” these veterans but ignores the fact that they are suffering from trauma and mental illness. In “Welcome Home” she belts the most impressive notes of the night, singing over the deafeningly loud trumpet, trombone, and saxophone all playing right in her ear. The song almost received a standing ovation and if nothing else, should have earned Osnes a Tony nomination.
The song “Welcome Home” was a highlight of the show, but the portion that surrounded it felt very out of place. The band left their small town to go to New York City, and the journey there included an odd travel montage and massive set change into oddly bright and metallic cityscape that felt borrowed from On the Twentieth Century and Act II of Shuffle Along.
Other than Osnes, the majority of the cast was unremarkable, and no one but she and Cott has any true solos. Overall Cott was fine at his role, looking pretty and having charisma, but his is certainly not a performance to remember. Beth Leavel, who planned Jane’s mother, gave a caring and hilarious performance, but sadly she only gave one song. Though Osnes is extraordinary as Jane it is hard not to feel like this show is a step down for her after her triumphant Cinderella.
The Tony nominations certainly did not look very kindly on Bandstand: they only received nods for choreography and orchestration, neither of which they are the favorite for. Bandstand is worth seeing, especially for fans of Osnes, swing dancing, or the 1940s. Although its attempts at being a more serious look at life after WWII are not very successful, it was a noble effort that produced, if nothing else, an enjoyable and beautiful musical.
