The musical “Rock and Roll Man” begins with an attention-grabbing operation. When he was in 1965, J. Edgar Hoover indicted his DJ and promoter Alan Freed and was on the brink of death. Hoover accused Freed of “inventing a musical genre you named rock and roll and destroying the American way of life.”
A good clue that this scene isn’t real and is taking place in the mind of an ailing Freed (Constantin Maroulis of Rock of Ages and Jekyll & Hyde) is that Freed is Little Richard (Rodric). Covington). He was quick to point out that the client didn’t actually invent the lock.
What Freed actually did was play R&B singles on radio shows he hosted in Cleveland and then New York, introducing white audiences to so-called race records. He then promoted the music as “rock and roll”.
Much of the bio show, which kicked off Wednesday at the New World Stages, consists of flashbacks that unfold far more traditionally than the prologue.
In the early 1950s, Freed discovers a new sound at a record store run by Leo Mintz (Joe Pantoliano) and quickly becomes obsessed with the raucous music that unites white and black teenagers. A successful DJ moves to New York, where he begins dating shady record label and nightclub owner Morris Levy (Pantoliano again).
Gary Kupper, Larry Marshak, and Rose Kaiola’s book includes Laverne Baker (Varicia Lukey), Jerry Lee Lewis (Dominic Scott), Chuck Berry, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (both Matthew・A parade of hit songs by S. Morgan) is dutifully put together. ). But Randall Myler’s productions never generate the chaotic, often suggestive energy of early rock. Freed may have envisioned the trial, but it reflected a time when rock was seen as an attack on the sexual and racial order. But the show makes it hard to understand why Freed and the artists he champions were seen as a threat to American values.
Freed was a funny guy and his life was rock and roll. Unfortunately, the show largely omits the fact that Freed indulged in booze and women, in addition to his flirting with Levi, both of them ultimately seeking payola. The storytelling is haphazard, especially when dealing with his family life.
To make matters worse, Freed himself didn’t sing, so former “American Idol” contestant Maroulis, one of the rare musical theater performers capable of rocking convincingly, couldn’t perform any hits at all. Instead, it remains to play a perfunctory original. Written by Kupper. He’ll reveal a bit about the title number at the end of the show, but by then it’s too little, too late.
rock and roll man
On the stage of the New World, Manhattan. newworldstages.com. Running time: 2 hours.
