The original 1965 production of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” lasted 280 performances.
The producers of the 2011 revival are hoping — praying — they can squeak along for 238 — that’s 34 weeks, the length of leading man Harry Connick Jr.’s contract.
Connick’s a trouper, but after the blistering notices he and the show received Monday, those 34 weeks, if they’re even in the cards, will feel like a Rod Blagojevich prison sentence.
There’s nothing worse than being entombed in a flop, especially one that’s as despised as this “Clear Day” seems to be.
The critics still can’t stop talking about it. During intermission at “Lysistrata Jones” the other night, several prominent members of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle were still carrying on about the ineptitude and incomprehensibility of “Clear Day.”
And it’s not just critics.
Broadway insiders, including a number of Tony nominators and voters, are still trying figure out how an Ira Pittelman production could go so wrong.
Pittelman, after all, is the man who, along with 875 other producers, gave us “Spring Awakening,” which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2007.
I count only 21 producers on “Clear Day.”
Perhaps if there’d been a few more, one might have said, “Are you nuts, Ira? This show makes no sense!”
Ah, well. Everybody has flops. Even Pittelman.
“Clear Day” will be a test of Connick’s drawing power. He certainly pulled in the crowds with the Roundabout Theatre’s revival of “The Pajama Game” in 2006. But the critics loved that show, and Connick was happily paired with the delightful Kelli O’Hara. The two of them were hotter than “Steam Heat.’”
For “Clear Day” to survive those 34 weeks, Connick is going to have to do what Hugh Jackman did with “The Boy From Oz”: Elevate a third-rate show to first-rate entertainment through sheer force of star power.
Which means Connick’s going to have to cut loose, onstage and off.
His only weapon is the score by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner.
Connick should jettison as much of Peter Parnell’s perplexing script as possible and turn “Clear Day” into a concert. He should shed the ’70s- era costumes, don a tux, sit at a piano and croon his way through such lovely songs as “She Isn’t You,” “Come Back to Me” and the title song.
Maybe O’Hara can drop by from time to time for a couple of duets.
This production augments the original score with songs from the movie “Royal Wedding.” But not the best one — “I Left My Hat in Haiti.”
Her eyes had the glow of surrender
And her touch it was tender
And with someone as fiery as that
You forget about your hat!
It’s a rousing Latin-themed number — the Billy Eckstine-Woody Herman recording is a classic — and it could be the showstopper “Clear Day” desperately needs.
As for shoehorning it into the plot, nothing could be simpler. This is a musical about a gay man with split personalities, so why not make one an aid worker in Port-au-Prince?
Barring some Connick gimmicks, “Clear Day” is unlikely to last through January. The advance is around $2.5 million, and not growing. Word of mouth is terrible.
Connick might as well throw caution to the wind and turn this thing into “The Harry Connick Jr. Show.”
That’s what Hugh Jackman’s doing across the street.
And his show’s sold out.