Brooklyn The Musical lasted only nine months on Broadway and received not a single Tony Award nomination. The musical, now at Dallas Music Hall, has Dallas ties, with Michael Jenkins (President & Managing Director of Dallas Summer Musicals) and Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. as original producers of the Broadway production. Now they have produced and mounted the national tour.

Physically, the production remains identical to the original. Ray Klausen's frayed, dilapidated vision of a street corner under the Brooklyn Bridge looks shabby and visually realistic. It's like something you would see from your taxicab window when driving by the actual bridge. The lighting by Michael Gilliam is as outstanding as the original - evil greens for the Vietnam flashbacks, gorgeous hues of fuchsia for intimacy, and so on. But the best of the design elements is Tobin Ost's mind-blowing costumes. He uses trash and debris as cloth to create gowns for the divas. He has fashioned a gown of black trash bags and yellow police tape, and one in all in white from white plastic bags "I 'heart' NY" on them. Other cast members are layered in weathered, dirty costumes to resemble the homeless. I was surprised that Ost did not receive a Tony nod for his terrific concept for these costumes.

Director Jeff Calhoun uses the entire set, the costumes, and props galore to tell the story of a girl looking for her father and her purpose in life. This makes the musical unique and refreshing in its storytelling. Trash, bottles, iron gates, rope, signs, and so on are used in a myriad of scenes to push the story along. It's like Godspell meets Pippin with a small dash (very small) of Rent. This method of exploring and telling the story is one of the elements that makes Brooklyn enjoyable.

The same cannot be said for the book and for the majority of the score (both by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson). The book, oh the book. You should feel, understand, and enjoy the journey that the creators are trying to take you on, but the book for Brooklyn is all over the place; it tries to be serious and comment on today's issues (war, racism, poverty, AIDS), while at the same time it throws into the mix, suicide, drugs, parenting, and love. All of these components are dumped together, resulting in a useless book that attempts to have everything, but gives nothing.

The majority of the score survived the transition from the Broadway production. Only one song is gone - "Brooklyn in the Blood." The score is pure pop with overtones of old fashioned Broadway, and is mostly forgettable. From its roster of 18 songs, really only three or four truly stand out above the mess. Quite a few of the others mesh and blend together, sounding alike. The lyrics at times give great character analysis (like "Superlover") but then fall back into bland writing. The best songs from the score are "Once Upon A Time," "Superlover," "Raven," and "Love Fell Like Rain."

Having said all that, the cast makes this production marvelous to watch. Leading the company as Brooklyn is "American Idol" runner-up Diana DeGarmo. DeGarmo is actually much better physically suited for the role than original Broadway star, Eden Espinoza. DeGarmo is younger and has a more innocent look, giving the relationship between young daughter and father more believability and strength. She brings a lot of exuberance to the role that was missing before, and vocally she is phenomenal. Her first big power ballad, "Once Upon A Time," is a major highlight of the evening. Her vibrato and volume forces the high notes right up against the high ceiling of the Music Hall. Her second big number, "Love Fell Like Rain," is another showstopper. The composers really could add one more big number for Brooklyn to sing at the end; the character cries out for that.

DeGarmo's acting is fresh and honest, and she connects beautifully with her fellow cast mates. She shows promising range and great attention to characterization and subtext as well. Honestly, she needs to play Elphaba in Wicked sometime in her career, but for now she is worth the ticket price to see Brooklyn.

Right behind Ms. DeGarmo, delivering a scene-stealing performance, is Tony Award winner Melba Moore (Purlie) as Paradice. With her jaw-dropping multi-octave vocal range, she devours the score like a sexy panther. Ms. Moore still looks hot, sensual and gorgeous on stage. When she goes into her first solo, "Superlover," she seems to hold a long, sustaining note forever. Her second big number, a ballad called "Raven," is another major hit for this talented lady. Moore is the only one on stage to achieve loud laughs, but her character is written that way. Paradice is a tough, bitter, power-hungry diva who will do anything and destroy anyone to get to the top. Ms. Moore slides superbly into that skin and brings brutal honesty and dark pathos to the role. She walks with a slight limp on stage (she was recently diagnosed with arthritis and plans to have hip surgery once the tour is completed), though it is hardly noticeable. She is a real trooper to struggle through the pain to perform.

Cleavant Derricks, who was in the original Broadway production, does everything he can to somehow match his character, called Street Singer (think Leading Player from Pippin), to that of the two female leads, but sadly, he cannot. That is not his fault, whatsoever; that blame falls to the composers. None of his solos sparkle musically and the book gives him little to go on. This amazing Tony winner (Dreamgirls) does everything he can to rise above the lame material, but his talents are wasted in this role.

Rounding out the cast and providing solid support are Lee Morgan and Julie Reiber. Both are saddled with watered down characters and no true character songs to give them the boost they need. Nonetheless, they sing with great voices and perform with commitment to the lukewarm material.

Oh, and if you're near the orchestra pit, make sure to give a hello to the conductor down there. It's none other than John McDaniel, who was on TV as the musical director for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (and a producer, as well as musical arranger/orchestrator/supervisor for the Brooklyn on Broadway).

Even though I am not a fan of the score or book, the physical aspects, direction, and especially the performances of this first rate cast make Brooklyn a treat to see. The dynamite combination of DeGarmo and Moore is worth the trip to the Music Hall!

Brooklyn The Musical plays through August 6, 2006 at Dallas Music Hall. Single tickets are on sale, priced from $11-$69, & may be purchased at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, without service charges. Tickets may be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet or online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 214-631-ARTS (2787) with a service charge. For group sales of 20 or more, call 214-426-GROUP.

Brooklyn The Musical
Book, Music, & Lyrics by Mark Schoenfeld & Barri McPherson
National Tour-Dallas Summer Musicals
Directed by Jeff Calhoun
Musical Direction by John McDaniel

CAST:

Diana DeGarmo, Cleavant Derricks, Melba Moore, Lee Morgan, Julie Reiber

--John Garcia