The Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Musical

The Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Musical is a mixed affair at best and an untruthful whitewash of a controversial man at its worst. There were technical flaws as well: the terrible sound system at the Mercury Theatre, one that placed a mic too close to the percussion and had Brian Childers' (who plays Kaye) microphone going on and off, only added to the production's frustrations.

Kaye, the comic genius, singer/actor, made quick, tongue-twisting vocals his trade mark of performances on the stage ("Lady in the Dark"), films ("Hans Christian Anderson"), and television ("The Danny Kaye Show" in the 1960s). Unfortunately Childers constantly got drowned out and the comic magic of the songs, especially his "Tchaikovsky" where Kaye where he names 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds, gets lost in the process. This muddled sound in act one hurt this show greatly.

Making matters worse the story of Danny Kaye's rise to fame glosses over many key events and character traits that defined the superb entertainer. Yet despite the technical problems, the ensemble -- Childers, Karin Leone, Christina Purcell and Adam LeBow - worked hard to tell Kaye's story. But, despite his best efforts, Childers fails to captures Danny Kaye's mystique. Few in the audience laughed a Kaye's shtick. Fewer responded to his audience involvement efforts to have the audience sing along with him, as the actor fell flat at the performance I attended.

The book portrayed Kaye as a womanizer and it featured his long affair with actress Eve Arden. The show barely mentions his 10-year affair with Laurence Olivier. It also glosses over his bipolar condition. What would have made better sense would have been that the show, filled with corny Borsch belt routines, be reconceived as a Danny Kaye revue rather than a biomusical. We get a tainted and untruthful portrait of Kaye. Add the poor sound, the flat humor and a weak book, "The Kid From Brooklyn" became a tedious bore.

Audience members vocalized their dislike for this show as they left the theatre. the show just isn't funny -- maybe Kaye's material is dated? What was also a problem was that Childers failed to connect as Danny Kaye with the audience. Strange because the show I attended was full of seniors who would have known Kaye's work. This show needs to be re-thought and it needs a dose of truth. As a musical bio, it fails to deliver.