On the Town (Broadway) (2014)

On the Town might not be as classic as West Side Story, but Bernstein's musical about WWII-era Fleet Week before it was Fleet Week (ironically, this week is Fleet Week) is excellent.  The music is very diverse, at times jazzy, other times operatic.  It makes use of a wide variety of instruments.  In place of the usual overture, the play opens with an energetic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and the audience rises to its feet in a show of patriotism.  The music adapts to the scene, transforming flawlessly from purely romantic to raucously funny. However, as far as show tunes go, besides "New York, New York," the music is not very memorable or catchy.

In terms of plot, there really isn't much.  The story is quite simple: three Navy men have 24 hours in New York City.  This is a showcase for our great city, and it at least mentions almost every borough (besides the best one: Queens).  The play is pure fun because there is a lot of comedy, but none of it really advances the primary romance between Gabey and Ivy.  The set design is excellent. The actors stand in an imaginary box and hang on imaginary straps to simulate an imaginary subway car.  A mechanical bench that sways back and forth simulates a crazy taxi.  A large moving background captures the hustle and bustle of the city. And a large dinosaur puppet (not quite War Horse-style) brings the Museum of Natural History to life.

This Broadway musical has a lot of ballet, descended from Jerome Robbins.  The dream ballet sequences are gorgeous, especially the Coney Island scene complete with color lighting on the bare back wall.  Joshua Bergasse's choreography is mesmerizing.  The three leads dance in perfect unison, led by Tony Yazbeck as Gabey.  He dances, sings, and deserves his Tony nomination.  Megan Fairchild plays the female lead, though she does not have nearly enough stage time.  She is from the New York City Ballet making her Broadway debut.  She is beautifully majestic in every scene she is in.