Brimming with buoyant, bouncy songs (courtesy of Bell and composer Jeremy Cohen, with a nod to George M. Cohan) and high-energy dance sequences that are part turn-of-the-century music hall, part-Riverdance and part- boy band—all choreographed by talented Matt Raftery—David H. Bell’s rousing family musical seems like the perfect play. And given today’s economic climate and political scandals, the show is still as timely as it is entertaining, recalling musicals like “Oliver” and “Newsies,” and influenced by Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York"—but "The Bowery Boys" needs some judicious trimming.
The play starts off strong, however. Bell adapts five of Horatio Alger’s 270 dime novels, all of which are set in New York City’s Lower East Side during the late 1800s. He depicts a gang of poverty-stricken orphan boys struggling to survive as boot blacks, newsboys and peddlers. The playwright spotlights Dick Hunter—one of Alger’s most popular literary characters—as an enterprising, optimistic young man who serves as the leader of the downtrodden titular gang. He ultimately befriends and rescues Mary, a young English heiress abandoned at the pier. Full of heartless, mercenary villains and melodrama, their story defines the rags-to-riches mythology of the American dream. Broadway actor Brian Sears as Dick Hunter holds the entire musical together with his toothy grin, skilled footwork and terrific singing ability.
The show falters within the somewhat complicated subplot. The villains, along with a more evil bunch Dickens never imagined, are well-played by Jeff Dumas, Sean Fortunato, Bernie Yvon, John McFarland and Lesley Bevan—who is particularly despicable as the two-faced Nanny Mae—but their diabolical plot to swindle the English heiress out of her fortune is far too involved and overpowering. It often stops the show in its tracks, bringing down the joyous mood of the musical.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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