REVIEW: Unknown Soldier (Arena Stage)
“Now arriving at: Waterfront”, says the Metro. (Or L’Enfant, if you’re a sicko). After leaving the station and walking about five minutes down the block, you get to a theatre. You enter the auditorium after scanning your ticket and/or acquiring a beverage. It’s Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theatre, a bi-level proscenium dug into the ground at their majestic Southwest DC complex. Onstage, matte white boxes and tables are being rifled through by an ensemble of casually-dressed archivists. Though reminiscent of the primary setting of last season’s Here There Are Blueberries at Shakespeare Theatre Company, instead it’s Arena’s latest musical offering Unknown Soldier—but not like that’s very obvious. In fact, modus operandi of Soldier seems to be un-expectations. Whether it be the incoherent characters, the surprisingly springy music, or imbalanced production design, the show keeps giving and taking over a much-too-long two-hour runtime (with no intermission).
Book/Music
The premise is vaguely introduced in Arena’s marketing. Ellen Rabinowitz is clearing out her grandmother Lucy’s old home in “the worst town in New York” (Troy), when she discovers an old photograph of her and…some soldier, in Ithaca, New York. Not her grandfather, though, because he died in the first World War. So who is this man? Lucy’s recently passed, leaving no earthly source for her to delve into this. Ellen makes a call to a historian at Cornell University to find out more, setting into motion an avalanche of ideas that tumble about relying only on the “gravity” of the situation, so to speak. Shoving the story alongside Ellen is Andrew, the researcher she comes into contact with. Though initially introduced as a narrator, something he seemed perfect to serve, his role becomes substantially more intertwined with Ellen for no discernible reason. His shoehorning into Ellen’s generational search for clues about her family history are unmotivated and frankly, useless. (Later on we’re given some context about his sudden infatuation, but it’s handled shallowly and only seemed to haphazardly add more distractions to the book). In parallel we’re given flashbacks to Lucy’s relationship with the soldier, and how a one-night fling launched a romance doomed to failure and ultimately a life of spinsterhood. Her subsequent revelations and attempts at repairing this hole generate confusion: who was he, really? Is she the one who’s confused? Is the soldier a deserter? Is he even the soldier? Many questions are posed regarding the nature of Lucy and her life thereafter meeting the soldier but left untied—and its potentially darker implications unclear. As Ellen reconciles with this by the play’s end, things seem to be reaching a forward-thinking conclusion only for this to be yanked away as she basically elects to feed into delusion about how her grandmother’s story actually played out. Did we not just spend two hours (!!!) unpacking the trauma and learning to cope? Yeesh. Luckily, Michael Friedman’s score is solid enough to float on. Though it lyrically flips between clever and uninspiring, it hits more than it misses, and features catchy motifs that get stuck in your head (word-playing “gorges” with “gorgeous” is so Sondheimy and I loved it). Good thing there’s a cast recording. 5/10
Acting
It’s unfortunate that the show spends the bulk of its time on Ellen and Andrew, decisively flat characters (though no fault on Lora Lee Gayer and Adam Chanler-Berat), since Lucy and the Soldier’s story has much more to explore in it. Kerstin Anderson (Lucy [young]) has been with this show since its prior production Off-Broadway — as has Perry Sherman (Soldier) — and the pair have developed a powerfully sportive chemistry that tells more than the book itself does. Vocally, there are no misses, including from the younger Ellen (Riglee Ruth Bryson) and Arena regular Nehal Joshi (Doctor). Oh, yeah, and multi-award winner and Broadway favorite Judy Kuhn (Lucy [old]) is in this — but seldom does she get to express her talents. Honestly, this is more of a book issue, but between her character arc and then misused casting, their (lack of) use of Judy left a bad taste in my mouth. 8/10
Production
This may be my hottest take, based on those I’ve spoken to: I didn’t like Mark Wendland’s garishly sterile set design. It felt like a crucial flaw in Trip Cullman’s direction. Though, there were elements of it I liked but felt under-used, such as the detailed building models peppering the stage and the ability for the matte-ness to absorb all of Ben Stanton’s inviting lights. But when combined with the detail of Jacob A. Climer’s period costumes and Lucy MacKinnon’s projections, it was easily the missing link. No other element felt like a blank canvas, so it feels like the set didn’t get the production design memo. 5/10
Viz
Their primary marketing materials are effective, showcasing a modern woman searching through piles while her ancestors wistfully apperate behind her. It does, however, lead into more of a warm, naturalistic mood that does not actually manifest in the production. This is less about the “soldier” than it is about the “unknown”. As I mentioned in the opening, the pre-show gives you next to no idea about the show you’re going to witness — for better or for worse. 4/10
Verdict
Unknown Soldier flails with narrative blunders and cheap characters but a solid ensemble and score give it some bite. 21/40
