New Line Theatre 2007-2008 -- High Fidelity

“In the spirit of author Nick Hornby, I'm presenting the top five reasons you should go see New Line Theatre's production of the musical High Fidelity, in reverse order. Number five, because it features catchy songs from composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Amanda Green. Number four, because David Lindsay-Abaire’s script captures the novel’s flavor better than the film adaptation did. Number three, because this is the midwest premiere, and you'll want to see this in it’s purest form before it gets de-fanged for mass consumption. Number two, because it features a terrific cast, and a crack band. And number one, because New Line has put together an incredibly entertaining show that deserves your attendance.” – Chris Gibson, KDHX-FM

“A 5 on a scale of 1-to-5. Sweet and charming while also faithful to its raw rock roots, New Line’s rendition of High Fidelity soars on the energy of its solid music and consistent comedy. Highlights abound throughout, from the entertaining and pulsating opening number, “The Last Real Record Store on Earth,” to the poignant ballad, “Laura, Laura”. . . New Line’s High Fidelity can be cherished as fondly as Rob’s coveted collection of old 45s. What a rewarding sound it is.” – Mark Bretz, Ladue News

“The stars are in perfect alignment for the regional premiere of Tom Kitt and Amanda Green's musical, based on the novel by Nick Hornby. Director Scott Miller has put together a fine cast of actors and singers (in an interesting new venue), to stage the lives of young men in a used record shop, and the women who love them. Individually, and in delightful groups, they blaze through a series of power ballads, make-up songs, break-up songs and more, covering musical idioms from the soulful sixties to the acrid eighties.” – Richard Green, TalkinBroadway.com

“Scott Miller’s New Line Theatre staging of the Broadway musical by Tom Kitt, Amanda Green and David Lindsay-Abaire salvages most of the charm of Nick Hornby's novel with excellent performances and a careful refocusing of the action on protagonist Rob's emotional growth. Jeffrey M. Wright breathes a rumpled, resentful life into the obsessive Rob, which later gives way to a generosity that is believable and satisfying. . . The music is sharp and clever, and the New Line Band performs it all quite rockingly. . . The tough little coming of age story is now allowed to shine, and it's very bright indeed.” – Paul Friswold, The Riverfront Times

“High Fidelity started out as a delightful novel by Nick Hornby, then turned into a cute movie starring John Cusack. But it's not an obvious candidate for the musical stage. That's because when we think of musicals, we tend to think of flashy extravaganzas. New Line Theatre, however, specializes in small, smart shows instead. Maybe that's why its production of High Fidelity pays off: The whole thing is built to scale. . . High Fidelity makes for appealing entertainment.” – Judith Newmark, St. Louis Post Dispatch

I've got my daily crossword

And there's coffee in the pot.

I've got cable and a girlfriend

Who is pissed off but she's hot.

I've got records that it's taken me

A lifetime to amass,

And I play them on a system

That will kick your system's ass!

– High Fidelity the Musical

In the first production after its Broadway run, New Line Theatre's 17th season closes June 12-July 5, 2008 with the regional premiere of the hip new rock musical HIGH FIDELITY, based on the famous novel by Nick Hornby and the film starring John Cusack and Jack Black. Fresh from Broadway, New Line is the first company outside New York to produce this smart, funny show about America's new Lost Generation and the music they live their lives to. With lyrics by Amanda Green and music by up-and-coming rock songwriter Tom Kitt, this is a genuine rock and roll score, peppered with musical references to some of the great rock and pop artists of our time, the muscular American rock sound of Bruce Springsteen, the raw rage of Guns N' Roses, the Eastern experiments of George Harrison and The Beatles, the intellectual playfulness of The Talking Heads , the fierce defiance of Aretha Franklin, the smoky groove of Percy Sledge, the naked emotion of Ben Folds, the driving cynicism of Billy Joel. (Listen to the show's opening number, "The Last Real Record Store on Earth.")

This is a story not just told with music, but entirely about music, written by people who genuinely love rock and roll, and based on the novel that defined once and for all the relationship between rock and the lives of its fans. This is a show whose main character Rob sings in the voices of his Rock Gods. Their voices become his. Their music is the soundtrack of his life.

THE BLOGS

Trisha Bakula

Amanda Densmore

Nikki Glenn

Joel Hackbarth

Aaron Lawson

Scott Miller

Todd Micali

Katie Nestor

Margeau Steinau

Lori White

Jeff Wright

HIGH FIDELITY is a story about experiencing music autobiographically, about the incredible connection Americans feel to the pop music of their times, with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Amanda Green (daughter of legendary lyricist Adolph Green), and a book by one of the hottest young playwrights in New York, David Lindsay-Abaire.

HIGH FIDELITY tells the sad-funny tale of Rob, a thirty-something, indie record store owner who knows everything there is to know about music but nothing about holding on to girlfriends. As he says in the novel, "I've spent nearly thirty years of my life listening to people singing about broken hearts. And has it helped me any? Has it fuck." The story starts with the breakup of the most recent in a long string of failed relationships, and Rob has to learn (with a little help from Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen) to take life and love as seriously as he takes his music.

Variety said of the show, "High Fidelity is a musical that celebrates the power of pop culture with wit, verve and a killer beat. . . It's really about growing up while still honoring one's self-defining music." Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press said, "Its charms are considerable and don't be surprised if you fall under its spell."

David Kaufman wrote in the December 2006 Vanity Fair, "The last thing theater mavens need is another pop-rock musical based on a cult film. But with a book by the wily David Lindsay-Abaire, High Fidelity is apt to have the gnawing fascination of both the original Nick Hornby novel and the 2000 film starring John Cusack, concerning a record-store owner and troubled soul. Lindsay-Abaire defied categorization and stunned theatergoers last season with the searing Rabbit Hole, about a family coping with the death of a child. When the playwright first heard that a musical version of High Fidelity was in the works, he thought it sounded misguided. 'I had read the book and seen the movie and I had loved them both immensely,' he said during the show's Boston tryout, prior to its December opening on Broadway. 'Frankly, I was quite dubious about the idea of someone turning it into a musical.' He was converted, however, when he heard several of the songs written by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green. 'They were really ironic and soulful and very, very funny,' he added."

The New Line cast includes Jeffrey M. Wright (Rob), Kimi Short (Laura), Aaron Lawson (Dick), Zachary Allen Farmer (Barry), Robb Kennedy (Ian), Nikki Glenn (Liz), Mary C. Crouch, Amanda Densmore, Patrick Donnigan, Joel Hackbarth, Andrew T. Hampton, Todd Micali, Katie Nestor, Margeau Baue Steinau, and Lori White. The production staff includes Scott Miller (director), Robin Michelle Berger (choreographer), Trisha Bakula (stage manager), David Carr and Jeffery Breckel (set designers), Michael Bergfeld (lighting designer) and Amy Kelly (costume designer).

Read Paul Friswold's full Riverfront Times review (too long for the printed edition)