Tim rates it:
Joseph Merrick’s problem – in addition to a horrible disfiguring disease now thought to be neurofibromatosis type1 – was that he lived in the wrong century. Born in Victorian England, he was dependent on the considerable kindness of Dr. Frederick Treves, and was later the subject of an iconic play by Bernard Pomerance. Had he lived in our time, he doubtlessly would have had his own reality show – Very Extreme Makeover, perhaps – and his own talk show, as well as a book deal and maybe a record.
The Elephant Man – The Musical is set somewhere in the middle of these two scenarios. It is a sort of alternate history, where Merrick (Roger Mulligan) is rescued not by Treves but by Dr. James Lipscomb (Ira Sargent), a physician-cum- romance novelist down on his luck, and his spectacular companion Jessica Curvey (Haley Greenstein). Jessica has two medical degrees, but she is still in search of her true calling, eventually settling on being a stripper.
Merrick, too, searches for his true calling, but he knows what it is. The Elephant Man was born for Broadway, baby! We see the Elephant Man sing! We see the Elephant Man dance! We see him act! And he wows them in auditions, until he removes that enormous cloth bag over his head and reveals – his enormous head! Then they run away screaming. It falls to überproducer Presby Raincoat (Ryan Emmons), who is – you’ll never guess this – a flaming gay guy to decide that the world needs a musical based on the life of the Elephant Man, and that Dr. Lipscomb is the man to write it.
Funny! (Although I suspect it would have been less funny if Merrick was suffering from, say, Alzheimer’s instead of neurofibromatosis). And so well done! Mulligan and Greenstein have gorgeous voices; the songs are harmonious and witty; Simon Gunner’s dance choreography is brilliant; all four actors are obviously highly skilled. The Elephant Man -The Musical touches upon the Pomerance play periodically, and perceptively. And have I mentioned how good the songs are? They’re terrific!
And yet…and yet. At bottom, The Elephant Man – The Musical is sort of a one-trick pony. The trick is this: Joseph Merrick, brought low by a horrible illness, wishes to be a Broadway star. This is amusing to us, since we all know that we ourselves never became Broadway stars, in spite of our health and good looks. But Merrick – I don’t know if he would have thought it that funny. In any event, if you find yourself halfway into this show, watching all the superb choreography and letting all the swell singing sink in and saying to your self yeah, I get the point, know that you won’t be the only one in the room who feels that way.
The Elephant Man – The Musical
Book by Jeff Hylton and Tim Werenko
Music by Paul Jones and Jeff Hylton
Lyrics by Jeff Hylton
Directed by Julie Congress
Produced by No. 11 Productions
Reviewed by Tim Treanor
Sorry should say:
http://www.piratemanagement.com/PirateManagement/Face_to_Face.html
Did you know that there was a musical written in 2001-3 about Joseph Merrick and Dr Treves, showcased at the Pleasance Theatre, London. The show was called “Merrick” and later renamed “Face To Face”. There is a song released on iTunes & Amazon called “Shadows Of Evening” and loads more information atpiratemanagement.com/PirateManagement/Face_to_Face.html
Hey…you’re the one that thinks that NF is “funny,” so I wouldn’t talk about rudeness/civility.
Well, that Dr. Eng sure must have been a nitwit, to have performed his experiments on DNA which had already been destroyed! Perhaps it was his view that DNA tests on the bones yielded valid results, regardless of their condition. Moreover, he also used samples of Merrick’s hair, which I don’t think had been boiled.
Josh, perhaps you should read what I wrote a little more closely. (I won’t say that you should learn to read; that would be rude, and mark me as a less than civil man). I didn’t say that Eng’s failure to find a mutation in the PTEN gene ruled out Proteus; I said that had he found the mutation it would have positively identified Merrick as a Proteus sufferer. Without the mutation, there is no medical evidence that Merrick had Proteus.
Sara, if you have medical evidence that Merrick had Proteus Syndrome — or that he didn’t have neurofibromatosis type 1 — I wish you would bring it forward. It would be a much more impressive argument than saying “everyone knows it”, followed by an insult.
Wrong diagnosis and this has been known since 1987. How many years would that make this……? A writer really needs to research properly before doing anything public like this.
Merrick’s bones were boiled, which destroyed the DNA in them. Also, the PTEN gene isn’t present in all people with Proteus Syndrome; if you got your facts from Wikipedia, you should probably learn how to read, because it says the PTEN gene is “only present in some Proteus syndrome sufferers.”
Get your facts straight.
Well, no one knows Merrick’s condition for sure. But the work of
Dr. Charis Eng in 2003 cast doubt on the earlier speculation that Merrick had Proteus Syndrome. Eng examined DNA samples taken from Merrick’s hair and bones and found no mutation of the PTEN gene, which, had he found it, would have positively diagnosed Merrick as a Proteus sufferer. While the results of this test does not rule out Proteus, the fact remains that there is no medical evidence to support the diagnosis. Thus the neurofibromatosis 1 theory, which was the predominant one before 1986, has moved back into favor. If I learn anything else on the subject I will report it here. You too.
Merrick had proteus syndrome, NOT neurofibromatosis type one.
The Elephant Man…did not have Neurofibromatosis.
http://www.phreeque.com/joseph_merrick.html
This story has great potential as a musical, but it fails to deliver. The music is bland. The evening I went to see the show it was very humid. Most uncomfortable to be in that space and this show made me want to get out of there. This Fringe has much better shows than this. I won’t give it a 4 maybe a 2 or a 3.