EDGES: A SONG CYCLE at the Phoenix Arts Club

★★★★

“Each number is a standalone gem”

It is often the case that when artists achieve a degree of success, in whatever field they operate, their early back-catalogue is revisited. Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Olivier Award-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are best known for their work on ‘La La Land’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and ‘The Greatest Showman’. “Edges – A Song Cycle” was written when the pair started working together as freshmen at the University of Michigan in 2005. Having both been involved in the school’s musical theatre production, they were inspired to create their own a year before they graduated.

It shows its age in the pared back revival at the Phoenix Arts Club – and it also shows the author’s age at the time of writing. The lyrical content of the fourteen songs focuses on the trials and tribulations of moving into adulthood, with the inevitable and somewhat predictable moments of self-discovery. There is no narrative as such that links the musical numbers. Instead, each song is a tale in itself. A recital; rich in structure and harmony, and lyrically strong despite a few dips into the clichés of self-doubt. The opening song is the main culprit with its chorus of ‘I’m afraid to be who I am’ – but Pasek and Paul do redeem themselves when the cycle comes full circle, and the line is rephrased for a rousing finale.

Between the bookends, the fourteen songs are chapters in which the characters bear their souls, their dreams, their doubts and yearnings, anxieties, frustrations and loves lost and gained – from the various perspectives of friends, lovers, parents and siblings. The influences extend beyond musical theatre, with echoes of modern American songwriters appearing throughout. Billy Joel’s ‘Movin’ Out’ is strongly referenced in the second upbeat number (unfortunately no song list was available at the performance), while shades of Randy Newman, and even Carol King, permeate throughout the evening. Each number is a standalone gem, but when strung together over time they do lose a bit of their colour. Like a monochrome festoon, of fairly low wattage.

“The sole accompaniment is piano, but we can hear the potential of full arrangements in our heads thanks to musical director’s Ben Ward’s fluency and eclecticism”

But the performances light up the piece and bring it fully to life. The characters are named simply Man One, Woman One, Man Two and Woman Two; played respectively by Cameron Collins, Holly Adams, Gareth Evans and Maia Gough. Individually their voices are perfectly suited to the material and faultless in their delivery. Collectively, the close harmonies are simply a joy to the ear. Taylor Jay’s staging uses the basement club to great effect, allowing the singers to move between two stages within the space. End-on for the most part, the characters drift occasionally from the mainland to an island out in the auditorium, from which the more plaintive, solo numbers are delivered. The sense of isolation is heightened, particularly when reaching out to a counterpart on the main stage.

The sole accompaniment is piano, but we can hear the potential of full arrangements in our heads thanks to musical director’s Ben Ward’s fluency and eclecticism. Ward mixes virtuosity with sensitivity, following the moods of the lyrics with a conductor’s flair and judgement, seamlessly connecting the song vignettes with an invisible thread.

It is a thread that is only just held together, despite the fine performances and craftmanship of the compositions. There is an overriding question of where it is going, or what this is all for. The song cycle has the air of an early demo, found in the loft. Or a bonus-track CD. Whether it can straddle the crest of the wave its authors are riding is an unavoidable challenge. But for eighty minutes we can ignore the speculation and enjoy the retrospection instead; allowing ourselves to drift back in time to witness the gentle poignancy of a fledgling American song writing duo.

EDGES: A SONG CYCLE at the Phoenix Arts Club

Reviewed on 21st January 2024

by Jonathan Evans

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ALAN TURING – A MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY | ★★ | Riverside Studios | January 2024

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THE ENFIELD HAUNTING | ★½ | Ambassadors Theatre | January 2024

KIM’S CONVENIENCE | ★★★★ | Park Theatre | January 2024

REHAB THE MUSICAL | ★★★ | Neon 194 | January 2024

COWBOIS | ★★★★★ | Royal Court Theatre | January 2024

Edges

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

★★★★

“a brilliant and nuanced musical“

It’s 1963 and Eddie Birdlace has one more night before him and his fellow marine buddies (Bernstein and Boland – the three bees) ship out to the Vietnam war. Full of the certainty of their invincibility and the promise of a hero’s return, the marines spend their night partaking in a long honoured tradition: the dogfight. A simple premise. Each marine puts in fifty bucks. They throw a party. The marine who can bring the ugliest date wins the leftover money. When Eddie meets Rose he is sure he has found the perfect girl for the dogfight, but he doesn’t bargain for what comes next.

At its heart this is a love story but it is also investigates toxic masculinity. The marines have only had thirteen weeks training, and can’t be more than nineteen years old. They are vessels of a violent and ugly misogyny, but at the same time they are no more than boys, naive and vulnerable, in no way ready to face war. In heartbreaking juxtaposition, Rose is a breath of fresh air to the stage, intelligent, interesting and ultimately kind.

The performers are all members of the British Theatre Academy, which offers accessible training and performance opportunities to young people under the age of twenty three. And what a cast they are. Across the board they are full of energy and conviction, and there isn’t a weak link onstage. Our leading pair played by Stephen Lewis-Johnson and Claire Keenan in this performance – two casts alternate – are brilliant. Keenan is particularly compelling, funny and genuine, immediately likeable. She is utterly engaging to watch. Her and Lewis-Johnson are in turn lovely together, and both vocally really strong. Lewis-Johnson’s lonely return from Vietnam is an undeniably powerful end to the show which he delivers with the full emotional punch it deserves.

The band are faultless. It’s a fantastic score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (both music and lyrics) that they handle with accomplishment and ease.

The set by Dean Johnson and Andrew Exeter is simple but effective. The band, lit by warm lamps are at the back of the stage and the different settings are created by wooden crates. A particularly lovely moment sees light bulbs suspended by cast members to create street lamps around Eddie and Rose on their first date.

This a brilliant and nuanced musical that is delivered by an incredibly talented cast and band.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Eliza Wilmot

EDGES: A SONG CYCLE at the Phoenix Arts Club

★★★★

“Each number is a standalone gem”

“The sole accompaniment is piano, but we can hear the potential of full arrangements in our heads thanks to musical director’s Ben Ward’s fluency and eclecticism”

EDGES: A SONG CYCLE at the Phoenix Arts Club

Reviewed on 21st January 2024

by Jonathan Evans

More shows recently reviewed:

Edges

Edges

Southwark Playhouse

Reviewed – 21st August 2019

★★★★

“a brilliant and nuanced musical“

The band are faultless. It’s a fantastic score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (both music and lyrics) that they handle with accomplishment and ease.

This a brilliant and nuanced musical that is delivered by an incredibly talented cast and band.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Eliza Wilmot

Dogfight

Southwark Playhouse until 31st August

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: