Review: BEGIN AGAIN at The Old Globe

There is something wonderfully appropriate about a musical about making music, celebrating the magic that is creating music. In its world premiere, pre-Broadway engagement at The Old Globe, Begin Again is at its best when it embraces the messy, collaborative, and magical process of creating something from nothing. Adapted from John Carney’s 2013 film, the new musical has plenty of heart, terrific performances, and a theatrical imagination that makes making music feel almost tangible.

The story follows Gretta (Emma Busse), a gifted songwriter whose relationship with musician Max (Kevin William Paul) falls apart just as his career takes off. When she meets Dan (Patrick Heusinger), a record producer whose career and personal life have stalled, they decide to make an album together, outside the machinery of the music industry and even a studio.  As they take this work out into the city of New York, along the way, Dan attempts to reconnect with his estranged wife Miriam (Adrienne Walker) and daughter Violet (Charlotte MacLeod), while Gretta wrestles with what it means to make music for herself, for an audience, and for commercial success.

Busse has a fantastic voice and a strong stage presence as Gretta, and she has some wonderful numbers including “Fake Flowers" and “Carousel.”  She and Heusinger make an appealing pair as they navigate their places in the music industry together.

 Heusinger gets a particularly satisfying character arc as Dan rediscovers the person and the music producer he once was while also figuring out whether his family might have a place for him again. Walker is terrific as Miriam, while Macleod brings both warmth and attitude to Violet, who also plays bass. Heusinger and Walker also have a great duet in “Made To Break.”

As the musician ex-boyfriend, Paul has nice chemistry with Busse and gives Max confidence and few qualms about sacrificing artistic vision, and he grabs his shot without a second thought.

Casey Whyland stands out as Gretta’s best friend, Stevie, a sassy, confident sound engineer who is often the only person who can pull Gretta out of her self-spiraling moments. Nik Walker has a wonderful voice and presence as Saul, Dan’s producing partner, although the character disappears for much of the show and could use more to do. 

The score by Pat Monahan, Jerry Becker and Matt Musty of Train has a strong pop-rock foundation while retaining some of the Celtic musical flavor associated with Carney’s work.  I will always love a live orchestra, and here, the musicianship is especially strong, with musicians also appearing onstage as part of the ensemble, a lovely echo of Carney's other show, Once.  The songs are dynamic and well performed by a talented ensemble, with great voices and musicianship throughout, and Erica Swindell stands out on violin.

Derek McLane’s scenic design creates gorgeous New York City landscapes that look almost sketched onto a drafting board. The city remains visible around the performers, but people and movement in the background are softened and blurred, almost like a shallow-focus photograph, naturally directing our attention without losing the sense of a city constantly moving around them.

Amanda Zieve’s lighting design complements this beautifully, moving through saturated hues, watercolor-like fades, and sunsets dissolving into twilight. Linda Cho’s costumes feel lived-in and real, while John Shivers’ sound design manages the considerable challenge of balancing live musicians, vocals, and the ambient noise of New York without turning it into a wall of sound. David Bengali’s projections add another layer of texture and detail.

And then there is the theatrical magic, both musical and literal. Illusion designer Skylar Fox gives us records that seemingly appear and float, while cups and bottles materialize as though they have always been there. Paper appears from the sky in crumpled drafts, pages appear in people's hands, rise from the floor, and blow themselves over buildings. 

Gretta’s “Song I Used To Know,” in particular, captures the show’s music and magic: a song grows from a single guitar strum into a fully realized piece of music as tables turn into drums and instruments appear from thin air for the people around her. In the second act, music is made on basketball courts using basketballs as percussion, or by layering in ambient noise from Times Square; it is when the show focuses on creating music that truly captures a creative magic.  

Lorin Latarro’s direction brings the emotional storytelling, movement, and music together into something cohesive and celebratory with humor and playfulness. David Neumann’s choreography embraces both the big and small, from riding buses and subways to the intentionally ridiculous commercial-pop choreography of a performer caught in the media machine. 

The show’s first act feels a bit slower than the second, mostly because of exposition, and the second act has more fun as the album is recorded out in the city. Gretta herself and the movie’s “authentic indie artist” archetype could use a little more adaptation. Gretta is so committed to artistic purity that she becomes frustratingly sanctimonious, particularly when she rails against commercial success while simultaneously resenting Max for achieving it with a song she gave him the rights to. As Gretta struggles with her artistic beliefs, she at times comes off as ungrateful and churlish to those who have committed time and talent to helping her.  

Still, Begin Again is a love letter to music, New York City, collaboration, and the strange, exhilarating act of creating something that did not exist five minutes ago. Sometimes the most magical thing is simply to show how a song, a show, or a life in the arts comes to be.

When the song is finished, the lights go down, the applause fades, and only one thing is left to do.

Begin again.

How To Get Tickets

Begin Again” is playing at The Old Globe through October 18th.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.theoldglobe.org

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