A New Brain

Davine Productions’ A New Brain by William Finn and James Lapine is a sheer delight from beginning to end. Once again, director David Gaucci has successfully led an ensemble of actors, musicians, designers, and more, to create a work that is detailed, nuanced, and thoroughly engaging. To create such unity is no small task at the best of times, and to achieve this kind of harmony with such a challenging piece such as A New Brain is a terrific achievement.

A New Brain was first produced in New York in 1998. Subsequently, it sits alongside other significant American musicals of the late 1990s, which includes Rent (1996), The Life (1997), Triumph of Love (1998), and Parade (1998) that mark a major development in the American musical theatre. Collectively, they represent what has been called the evolution of ‘the psychological musical’, with their emphasis on the inner lives of characters. What makes A New Brain so distinctive is that it is semi-autobiographical, being based on William Finn’s personal battle with an ‘arteriovenous malformation’.

A New Brain involves in the journey of Gordon Schwinn (Daniel Hamilton), a successful song writer who suddenly suffers an acute attack of ‘arteriovenous malformation’ leaving him in a coma, in need of operation and a new brain. To ease any concerns that this may sound a bit too heavy, due to the wonderful illogical nature of musical theatre (and opera), even though Gordon is in a life-threatening coma, nonetheless, Gordon is fully alive and active as he, and the other characters, contemplate on a life full of promise yet only half-lived. This is a journey into a very dark place yet told with such wit and vigour, that it makes it a joyful experience. Profound sentiments are expressed, but Finn and Lapine are too clever musical theatre artists to allow this to descend into mawkish sentimentality – same with this exceptional ensemble. Plus, A New Brain does a happy ending, offering and honouring a great element of the American musical theatre – Hope.

The cast in this production are all outstanding, not least being Daniel Hamilton as Gordon, Lindsay Prodea as Gordon’s lover, Roger, Catherine Campbell as Gordon’s mother, Mimi, and Lisa Simonetta as Lisa, ‘the homeless lady’. With so many standouts it feels a bit churlish to highlight one, however, Catherine Campbell’s Mimi is simply breathtaking. This is partly due to the enormous degree of difficulty of this character, who is in part comic concerned Jewish mother, yet underneath is also full of rage and anger as well as grief over the possible loss of her son. This is expressed in several highly complex musical numbers, including ‘Mother’s Gonna Make Things Fine’, ‘Throw it Out’, and ‘Music Plays On’, all of which are vastly different in tone, rhythm and emotion, yet also exemplifying the very heart and nature of the contemporary American ‘psychological musical’.

Congratulations to David Gaucci and Davine Productions for bringing so wonderfully to life William Finn’s and James Lapine’s A New Brain. Highly recommended. 4 Stars.

Tony Knight