Ahrens-Flaherty KNOXVILLE musical world premiere set for Asolo Rep

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 2:11pm

https://www.theatermania.com/florida-theater/news/knoxville-musical-asolo-rep-casting_93435.html

Asolo Repertory Theatre has announced full casting for the world premiere of the new musical Knoxville. Performances begin April 15 ahead of an April 23 opening and will run through May 11 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

Knoxville features a book and direction by Frank Galati, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens — the Tony Award-winning creative team behind the musical Ragtime. Based on James Agee's autobiographical, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Death in the Family, the story begins as Agee struggles to write his greatest work — about the event that touched his young life and the effect it had on his mother, his town, and his own future.

The cast stars Broadway veterans Jason Danieley (Pretty Woman: The Musical), Hannah Elless (Bright Star), Paul Alexander Nolan (Slave Play), Ellen Harvey (Present Laughter), and Nathan Salstone (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). The company also includes Sarah Aili, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Dwelvan David, Jack Casey, Barbara Marineau, William Parry, Abigail Stephenson, Joel Waggoner, Scott Wakefield, Alan Chandler, Sade Crosby, Ian Johnston, Patricia M. Lawrence, and Sharon Pearlman.

Knoxville's creative team additionally features choreography by Josh Rhodes, scenic and costume design by Robert Perdziola, and lighting design by Donald Holder. Tom Murray serves as music supervisor.

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 2:12pm

Great cast!

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 2:26pm

Agreed, great cast. Happy this is finally happening and excited to see where it goes. I can’t make it down to Florida to see this, so I’m selfishly hoping this makes it to somewhere NY adjacent.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 3/4/22 at 10:14am

Natalie Venetia Belcon!! Holy ****, i hope this gets recorded in some form!!

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/13/22 at 9:53am

The musical begins its run this week!

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/26/22 at 11:29am

An original cast recording will be released: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Ahrens-Flahertys-World-Premiere-Musical-KNOXVILLE-to-Release-Original-Cast-Recording-in-Fall-2022-20220526

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 5/26/22 at 11:32am

Did anyone catch this?

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 5/26/22 at 12:22pm

This gets a cast recording, and yet we still don't get anything from "Little Dancer"/"Marie"?!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/26/22 at 1:46pm

I actually saw this about a month ago in Sarasota, where I live half the year.  Based on the participants, I had high hopes for the show: most of the creatives involved in Ragtime, for me one of the best musicals in the past 25 years or so.

I will admit in advance that, despite thinking the score to Ragtime was an all-time great, I don't think I ever liked another score by Ahrens / Flaherty.  I may be forgetting one, but My Favoirt Year, Sussical and A Man of No Importance immediately come to mind.

First, the good news.  The production was incredibly tight.  The direction was just outstanding.  The skeletal set and lighting also very good, which provided solid opportunities for Galati to exercise his imagination.  It was always visually interesting.  Also, the performances were all top-drawer, although no one IMO had a role that suggested future Tony candidacy if it were to move to Broadway, unless it opened in a bad season.  Nolan was probably the standout; I remember being disappointed when his character dies, because he was very good in the role.  Luckily, his character reappeared through the remainder of the show.  

Now, the bad news.  I am going to have a problem articulating my issue with the show, but I will try.  First of all, I did not think on first hearing that the score was very good, including the title song which opened the show and was reprised slightly a few additional times.  It was not bad...rather, no songs stood out for me.  The second problem was I guess with the book.  I did not get pulled in emotionally.  I never saw the play 'All the Way Home, but I did see the movie, which I thought was excellent.  The protagonist was clearly the little boy; here, it was divided between the author as an adult and the little boy...presumably, the role in a musical would be too much for a child OR they wanted to show the impact the death had on the life of the child into his adulthood.  This diluted the emotional impact for me...I just didnt feel attached to the character at either age.  Despite this being a short show -- I seem to remember it being 100 minutes -- it also spread itself too thin.  For example, very early in the show a black girl sang a song and i assumed that she would have an important role in the show, but her role was minimal beyond that point.  I asked myself why give her a song if she is not going to do much to justify it...unless they were trying to convey that the family was not prejudiced.  

I was never bored and, having been so show deprived for so long, I enjoyed it despite my pretty major issues.  Leaving the theatre, my wife and I concluded that we had the same reaction, but struggled to articulate it.  I remember her saying that she would have had a more negative reaction had she paid Broadway prices for it.  IF they decide to bring this to NYC, unless they make pretty major changes, I would recommend strongly that they open it off-Broadway.

[whatever2]

Posted: 5/26/22 at 3:11pm

i also managed to see this ... have a slightly different take in just a few respects:

i agree the production was very tight, well-directed and superbly-performed. also, it struck me as big-budget for a regional theater. it was one of the more seamless and effective integrations of on-stage musicians i've ever seen.

to me, it gave off a vibe similar to Girl From the North Country (though i liked Knoxville better). the music served the story well; i actually found the opening song ( "Knoxville" ) compelling -- was an ear worm for a day or two! at the end, i found myself remarking to my partner, "maybe the problem is the source material is just too thin." (which is pretty remarkable, considering Agee won a posthumous Pulitzer for it.)

it could have a life in NYC, i think, but def agree it should be off-broadway. in an intimate setting, it could be a lovely night of live theater.

it's no Ragtime ... but it's also no Seussical, either!

Updated On: 5/26/22 at 03:11 PM

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 11:34pm

The cast album was released digitally today. There are some really nice, touching songs in it. I would love to see this show have a further life, 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/22/22 at 11:45am

I agree. I listened yesterday and there are some great songs. A really touching score. Classic Ahrens and Flaherty, they know how to play your heartstrings like a fiddle. I’d love to see this have future life.

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 4/2/24 at 1:14pm

I also just listened to the original cast recording and thought it was very well done. I could picture it on stage while listening! 
hopefully a New York production happens eventually! 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/2/24 at 3:53pm

Unfortunately, with Galati now gone I don’t think this show has much of a future life. 

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 4/2/24 at 4:19pm

I mean considering this was his passion project if they wanted to honor him they would keep it going. People don’t spend years working on shows just to shelve it.