''Too Close to the Sun'' is a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
with a book by Roberto Trippini and music and lyrics by Trippini and John Robinson, based on a play by Ron Read. The musical is a
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
alized account of the last days in the life of
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
.
Production
''Too Close to the Sun'' began previews at the
Comedy Theatre
The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, in the
West End on 16 July 2009 and officially opened on 24 July. It received uniformly unfavourable reviews and closed on 8 August, bringing its planned eight-week run to an end six weeks early.
[Paddock, Terr]
"''Too Close to the Sun'' Posts Closing Notices, 8 Aug"
WhatsOnStage.com, accessed 28 Jul 2009 Directed by Pat Garrett, the opening night cast included
James Graeme as Ernest Hemingway,
Helen Dallimore
Helen Dallimore (born 31 October 1971) is an Australian actress, known for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch, Glinda in the West End Theatre, West End production of ''Wicked (musical), Wicked''.
Early life
Dallimore grew up in Oxfor ...
as Mary Hemingway, and Tammy Joelle as Louella. Citing a knee injury, Jay Benedict had withdrawn from his role of Rex early in the previews. He was replaced by
Christopher Howell who performed all of the remaining performances.
Sets and costumes were designed by Christopher Woods.
Synopsis
In the summer of 1961 on the Hemingway ranch in
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, located in the central part of the state. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities sh ...
, Hemingway's young secretary, Louella, is plotting to become his fifth wife and heir to his estate. Rex De Havilland, an old friend of the author and now a struggling Hollywood producer, arrives to secure the film rights to Hemingway's life. Anxious to achieve his goal by any means possible, he tries to convince Hemingway's wife Mary the project will give the ailing writer a new lease on life. Hemingway, however, fails to succumb to the charms of either Louella or Rex, and he banishes both from his home before committing suicide with a shot to his head.
Musical numbers
;Act I
*"Prologue"
*"Just Relax-Think Good Thoughts"
*"The Ketchum, Idaho Walk"
*"Do I Make A Certain Kind Of Sense?"
*"I Do Like To Be Liked"
*"Make Yourself One With The Gun"
*"Sentimental Small-Towner That I Am"
*"Super-Eager Little Her"
*"Illusion Lyrique"
*"All Will Be Well"
*"Hollywood!, Hollywood!"
*"Havana"
*"Too Close To The Sun"
;Act II
*"In The World`s Face"
*"Alabama - The Queen Of Them All"
*"Waiting In The Shadows"
*"Just Gimme Half Of Half A Chance"
*"Strong And Silent Types"
*"Can`t Think Of It Without Wanting To Cry"
*"Stormy Weather, Boys"
*"Poor Little Silly Young Me"
*"Forgive Me Wife. You`ll Understand"
*"The Regret"
*"I Did My Best"
*"Character Gives You The Man"
Critical response
The musical received unanimously unfavourable reviews. Dominic Maxwell of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' rated it one out of five stars, calling it "pretty dire" and "such a muted, muddled experience, such a waste of time and talent, that there's not really much to snigger about." He described the score as "banal, borrowed and clumsy." Writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Michael Billington also rated the "implausible and unnecessary musical" one out of five stars and cited "the instantly forgettable two dozen numbers by John Robinson that fatally clog the action." Rhoda Koenig of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' similarly rated it one star, writing: "Robinson's trite music pootles about aimlessly and tunelessly, and the lyrics (a Robinson-Trippini collaboration) eschew rhyme as well as reason." In closing, she observed, "Trippini complained some years ago that West End musicals were based on 'formulas which have proved capable of attracting a steady flow of ... customers.' There seems little danger of anyone taking ''Too Close to the Sun'' for one of these." Ben Dowell of ''
thelondonpaper
''The London Paper'' (stylised as ''thelondonpaper'') was a free daily newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International (who also own the companies that publish '' The Sun'' and ''The Times''). It was available fr ...
'' commented, "Even literary giant Ernest Hemingway would be hard pressed to summon words damning enough to capture quite how appalling, risible and offensively drab John Robinson's musical – yes musical ... is." Dowell gave it a no-star rating.
[Dowell, Ben]
"Too Close To The Sun, Comedy Theatre - review"
''thelondonpaper'', 27 July 2009.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
2009 musicals
West End musicals
Musicals based on plays
Plays based on real people
British musicals
Musicals set in Idaho