New Musical Fails to Jazz Up Zelda Fitzgerald's Story, Leaving Audiences Underwhelmed
A new stage production aimed at reviving the complex story of Zelda Fitzgerald has rolled into town with mixed results. Beautiful Little Fool, featuring music and lyrics by actress Hannah Corneau, takes a familiar path that fails to delve deeper into the tumultuous marriage between author F Scott and his wife.
The show's frame, centered around their daughter Scottie as she explores her parents' archive, showcases Lauren Ward's impressive performance in capturing interactions with her parents at different ages. However, the narrative's lack of exploration regarding Scottie's presence in the first place leaves some questions unanswered.
Corneau's largely poppy score brings forth strong vocal performances from David Hunter and Amy Parker, particularly during emotional scenes like Zelda's emotional outbursts and their tender romance. The production's set design by Shankho Chaudhuri is a delight for book lovers, with bookshelves and stacks that evoke the couple's literary prowess.
Yet, the show's melodies fail to linger, making the numerous ballads feel repetitive. Moreover, it neglects to capture the darkly troubled essence of the Fitzgeralds' relationship beyond a single confrontation on the Riviera. The portrayal of Zelda's mental health struggles is hastily glossed over for the sake of a dramatic conclusion.
Despite its shortcomings, Beautiful Little Fool does have an advantage – future productions are already in the works. The Fitzgeralds of St Paul is set to debut in New York this spring, offering another chance for audiences to experience the captivating story of F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald on stage.
Ultimately, the show feels like a fleeting moment, leaving behind more questions than answers about one of literature's most fascinating couples.
A new stage production aimed at reviving the complex story of Zelda Fitzgerald has rolled into town with mixed results. Beautiful Little Fool, featuring music and lyrics by actress Hannah Corneau, takes a familiar path that fails to delve deeper into the tumultuous marriage between author F Scott and his wife.
The show's frame, centered around their daughter Scottie as she explores her parents' archive, showcases Lauren Ward's impressive performance in capturing interactions with her parents at different ages. However, the narrative's lack of exploration regarding Scottie's presence in the first place leaves some questions unanswered.
Corneau's largely poppy score brings forth strong vocal performances from David Hunter and Amy Parker, particularly during emotional scenes like Zelda's emotional outbursts and their tender romance. The production's set design by Shankho Chaudhuri is a delight for book lovers, with bookshelves and stacks that evoke the couple's literary prowess.
Yet, the show's melodies fail to linger, making the numerous ballads feel repetitive. Moreover, it neglects to capture the darkly troubled essence of the Fitzgeralds' relationship beyond a single confrontation on the Riviera. The portrayal of Zelda's mental health struggles is hastily glossed over for the sake of a dramatic conclusion.
Despite its shortcomings, Beautiful Little Fool does have an advantage – future productions are already in the works. The Fitzgeralds of St Paul is set to debut in New York this spring, offering another chance for audiences to experience the captivating story of F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald on stage.
Ultimately, the show feels like a fleeting moment, leaving behind more questions than answers about one of literature's most fascinating couples.
... Beautiful Little Fool has some great performances, especially from Lauren Ward as Scottie, but the music and storytelling feel kinda... meh 
. I mean, I love Zelda Fitzgerald's story, but this show doesn't really get into the deeper stuff about her mental health or their marriage. It's like they're just scratching the surface 
. And those ballads? Yeah, they're nice, but they all start to sound the same after a while 
. Still, I'm intrigued by The Fitzgeralds of St Paul - maybe it'll be more to my liking 
, but the music feels so generic and forgettable 
. And don't even get me started on how they glossed over Zelda's mental health struggles - it's like they're trying to simplify a complex issue too much 
.
, she brings so much energy & emotion to the role. But overall, I'm just not feeling this production 
. Don't get me wrong, David Hunter and Amy Parker were on point, especially during those emotional scenes 
, but overall, the melodies just didn't stick with me. And can we talk about how they glossed over Zelda's mental health struggles? Like, what was the point of even including that in the show if it's just gonna be so quick to move on from it? 
The set design was cool though, it really did feel like a library or something 
. But for me, Beautiful Little Fool just felt like a missed opportunity to really dig deep into the Fitzgeralds' story...
!
but honestly the show left me underwhelmed 
. on the other hand, lauren ward's performance as scottie was NEXT LEVEL 
.
but on the other hand, the reviews are mixed 