Here’s a new show that has a lot going for it, including a wonderful performance by star Lindsay Mendez and swift staging by Joe Mantello (“Wicked,” “Other Desert Cities”).
But “Dogfight,” which opened last night at Second Stage, also has a terminally dull score. And that’s kind of a problem for a musical.
The production is based on Nancy Savoca’s 1991 movie of the same name, which starred River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. They played a pair of young misfits who meet ugly before getting to know each other over the course of one night.
So once again we’re back in 1963, and Eddie (Derek Klena), a young Marine, is a few hours away from shipping off to Vietnam. He picks up the shy wallflower Rose (Mendez) in the diner where she works. He has a secret agenda, though: He and his buddies are competing in a “dogfight” to see who’ll bring the ugliest date to a party.
Rose freaks out when she realizes what’s going on, but gives Eddie another chance. We follow their journey until a bittersweet epilogue.
Peter Duchan’s book follows the movie closely — the best lines are from the screenplay. But there are some telling changes, and they’re mostly for the sake of needless over-explaining.
For instance, we now see Eddie’s friend Boland (Josh Segarra, from “Lysistrata Jones”) breaking the dogfight rules by hiring a prostitute with false teeth (Annaleigh Ashford, the best thing in the revival of “Rent”).
Knowing the twist in advance undermines the impact of the revelation — especially since it coincides with Rose discovering she’s been manipulated.
What made the film so endearing was its evolution from a cruel premise to grudging tenderness. Here, the edges are smoothed out. This creative team doesn’t trust the audience’s intelligence.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s semi-acoustic, post-Sondheimian score follows along the same lines. It’s just so irritatingly polite. That guys in their 20s could write such fuddy-duddy songs is baffling. And they keep winning fancy fellowships — only in musical theater, folks!
At least Mantello’s staging is inventively nimble, especially his use of a turntable that moves us from one location to another.
The cast is also terrific. Mendez, in particular, is heartbreaking without tumbling into sappiness, and Ashford confirms her comedic skills — someone write her a vehicle, stat!
That’s the biggest accomplishment of “Dogfight” right there: introducing or confirming talented actors we should see again soon.