"The history-based 'White Rose: The Musical' has its heart in the right place."
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“[It] boils down a wrenching and complicated historical episode into a strenuously earnest, cliché-ridden manifesto. Seemingly conceived and executed with the best of intentions, it turns real-life figures into one-dimensional musical theatre ingenues who are forever looking to the stars, seeking truth in their hearts, and finding their voices…The story of The White Rose is deeply important, especially so today, but this version is simply a mistake.”
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While we are presented with characters who are doing a noble thing and can be touched by what they go through to accomplish their task, Brian Belding’s book and lyrics repeatedly take us out of 1942. In breaking up a fight between her brother and her old flame, Sophie blurts, “Are we seriously doing this?!”…Seriously? The tone is not “then” in 1942, it’s a university student of present day. When Willi walks in on the scene, he asks “What the f*@k is going on?!” We don’t doubt the impulse behind it, but was that really the vernacular in 1942? Natalie Brice’s score has its moments with some of the solos, but the full company songs sound like retreads of "Les Miserables" chorus numbers.
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"This is a story we need to hear. Alas it is one White Rose fails to tell."
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"...it’s more a call to arms with some contemporary parallels."
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White Rose is…worth seeing...its salience… and its theatrical significance are undeniable.
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" 'White Rose: The Musical' is a serious misfire, its tensionless book, mediocre performances (several decent voices aside), uninspired direction..., middling “movement direction”..., and generic score often teetering precariously on the borderline of amateurishness. Despite several actors whose resumes would seem to hold some promise, none have the kind of gravitas or period feeling required; the result is more like an MFA production than a professional one on 42nd Street. "
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White Rose contains moving ideas and beautiful moments, but its current form needs some structural revision to put more emotional power and connection into the show. The leaflets dropped near the end contained powerful words and I would have loved to hear more about these ideas, rather than the vagueness of being part of a subversive group. The audience lacked clarity about what treasonous things were being said and why everybody’s neck was on the line, which made it difficult to feel invested.
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