Sunday Showtunes

SINGING IN THE REIGN

My next-to-last show was today’s matinee of “I and Albert,” presented by the York Theatre Company as part of a series of shows “in Mufti,” which is a British/Indian term for “in street clothes.”  The York does new works and full stagings too, but their “Mufti” series highlights flop or obscure shows.  It’s exactly the same thing as 42^nd Street Moon.   The actors carry their scripts around in binders, there is minimal staging and no sets, and only piano (but drums were added for this show).   “I and Albert” is a 1972 Strouse and Adams flop about the love affair between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  The Artistic Director, a very funny man, gave a pre-show speech and described the show as a “PIERCING” look at their relationship.   He also described the “mufti” staging as “What John Doyle would do if he could afford even two musicians!”  “I and Albert” only played a brief run in London (directed by John Schlesinger of “Midnight Cowboy” fame!) and has not been seen since.

I selected it because there wasn’t much to choose from for this trip, and after hearing about the York’s “Musicals in Mufti”  all these years I thought I’d give it a try.  Now I can say I have.  The show itself didn’t excite me.  They are planning to record the score but I am in no hurry to buy it.  And while it is unlike any of the other Strouse and Adams scores in style, I found it also the least fun, and the book doesn’t really have an “arc” – it’s just a journey through their lives without a central conflict.  There was a post-show audience discussion afterwards which was sort of interesting.

KSHO broadcasts to the Mid-Willamette Valley in Western Oregon.
Among the communities served are Albany, Corvallis, and Lebanon.