| IF YOU GO |
| “Candide” |
| Where: Shakespeare Theatre, Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20; through Jan. 9 |
| Info: Tickets start at $49; 202-547-1122; shakespearetheatre.org |
If you think you know Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” because you’ve seen it somewhere along the line since it premiered on Broadway in 1956, think again. The “Candide” currently playing at the Shakespeare Theatre, a co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, indeed reproduces Bernstein’s brilliant music, Hugh Wheeler’s book adapted from Voltaire’s original, and lyrics by Richard Wilbur, Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Bernstein. But it adds an extraordinary new dimension: the directorial finesse of director/adapter Mary Zimmerman, who intensifies the power of this “Candide” with her insight, imagination and wit.
The musical begins on the estate of a baron in Westphalia, where Candide (Geoff Packard), the illegitimate nephew of the baron, studies philosophy with Pangloss (Larry Yando), a philosopher who teaches Candide that he lives in “the best of all possible worlds.” But when Candide’s love for the baron’s daughter, Cunegonde (Lauren Molina), is discovered, Candide is banished.
The rest of the musical follows Candide’s journeys from Westphalia all over the world as he looks for Cunegonde, whom he never stops loving. Zimmerman has gone back to Voltaire’s original text and found a way to rearrange texts and humorously reconnect with Voltaire’s searing 1759 satire of the philosophy of optimism.
Truly horrible things — like a run-in with the Inquisition — happen to Candide, yet one of the funniest numbers is “What a Day for an Auto-da-fe.” In order to offset Pangloss’ eternal, impossible optimism, Zimmerman introduces a welcome new character, Martin (Tom Aulino), who introduces a note of pessimism in Act II.
The cast of this “Candide” is superb. Packard is charming as the sweet, innocent young man who tries to survive in a vicious world. He is also a powerful singer whose clear tenor voice energizes each musical number he sings.
Molina is delightful as the slightly bubble-headed Cunegonde. She is particularly impressive in the vocally demanding “Glitter and Be Gay,” where she must deliver astonishing, rapid vocal fireworks while she takes a bubble bath, is laced into a corset, gets dressed and chooses her favorite jewels.
Yando portrays Pangloss with a hilarious refusal to see reality clearly. Hollis Resnik is sensational as the Old Lady, the stoic survivor who accompanies Candide and Cunegonde on the latter part of their journey. Cunegonde’s brother is played as the epitome of narcissism by Erik Lochtefeld. The cast works together seamlessly as an ensemble, many of them playing three or more roles.
Choreographer Daniel Pelzig assures that they move gracefully around the stage, at one point allowing the entire 19-member cast to perform a flamboyant Spanish dance.
Much of the success of this production is thanks to the inventive set design by Daniel Ostling. After the original scene at Westphalia, Candide is banished to a great wooden room with no windows, which thereafter transforms into exotic locales. Much of the action depends on traps in the stage floor, allowing people to appear and disappear. Ostling uses simple, hand-carried props, for instance a miniature ship symbolizes a sea crossing.
Music Director Doug Peck creates magic in his arrangements and orchestrations, inspiring 12 orchestra members to sound like 36. Costume designer Mara Blumenfeld’s massive fabric wigs comment humorously on her elaborate period costumes.
In the end, Candide finds Cunegonde and they decide to marry and plant the garden Candide once envisioned. As they sing “Make Our Garden Grow,” Zimmerman creates a credible happy ending in this satire worthy of Voltaire, where questions about survival, free will and life’s unpredictability are finally answered: “We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good/We’ll do the best we know./We’ll build our house and chop our wood/And make our garden grow.”
