The Cast Soars, but A Walk on the Moon Never Takes Flight

There's plenty to admire in A Walk on the Moon, from Talia Suskauer's powerhouse vocals to Sophie Pollono's breakout performance. But beneath the polished production lies a musical that struggles to justify both its central romance and its existence.

Originally a 1999 film starring Diane Lane and Viggo Mortensen, A Walk on the Moon premiered to mixed reception, revolving around a housewife who has an affair with the local hippie while on family vacation. Now playing for a limited run at the Laura Pels Theatre on W 46th Street, A Walk on the Moon has been turned into a musical, with music and lyrics by Annmarie Milazzo, and book by the same writer as the original film, Pamela Gray.

Set in the Catskills in the summer of 1969, several families from Brooklyn congregate at their usual group of rented cabins. The husbands travel to and from the city for work, while the wives play Mahjong and entertain the children. It was a memorable year. America was changing. Minorites had more rights, we were in Vietnam, and the Space Race was coming to its climax. As today, there was much anti-war sentiment and resentment towards the government. Usually with an adaptation there is an opportunity, or second chance, to fix some glaring issues, however, it seems the writer saw no flaws and the story remains the same. Why this decision was made, I’ll never know; the story centers around not only a flawed protagonist, but a protagonist you can’t even root for.

Played by the exceptionally talented Talia Suskauer, Pearl is astounded by the speed with which everything around her is moving forward; her children are growing up, women are being encouraged to get their own jobs, and the world waits with bated breath to see the first ever man walk on the moon. She feels as though life has been passing her by. This, coupled with the fact that her husband tends to believe her only place in the home is as a mother, leads her to land in the arms of travelling blouse salesman, Walker, played by Sam Gravitte.

While Suskauer had a gorgeous voice and shone in her musical numbers, she was let down by the writing of her character. There seems very little justification for embarking on an affair, the chemistry between herself and Walker felt forced, she doesn’t show remorse until she has been caught, and by the end of her story we seem to be right back where we started; after throwing away both her family and her marriage to ‘schtupp’ the blouse guy, she goes right back to being a housewife to try and get her husband back. So, what was the point? While these stories are reflective of the imperfect humans we often are, it’s not a satisfying – or even entertaining – night out at the theatre. Even antiheroes should learn something along the way.

Pearl’s ‘I Want’ song, performed as a soliloquy to the audience, though musically triumphant, left me unsettled. It should have been sung to her husband, as some kind of explanation for what she had been searching for and why she had betrayed him. Instead it made her seem more selfish. Please understand me, women wanting more, and having desire and ambition, is NOT selfish. But what this woman did, and the way she went about it, was. Pearl cheated on her husband, but instead of giving a proper apology, tried to defend her actions to the audience. It felt manipulative.

(L to R) Sophie Pollono, Talia Suskauer, Caroline Pernick, Becca Suskauer, Megan Kane. Photo by Joan Marcus

The score was pleasant and easy to listen to. There were several showstopper-esque numbers, though the overall effect wasn’t especially cohesive. The arrangements were beautiful and made good use of the ensemble; their harmonies were spectacular and their voices worked well together. Pearl’s husband, Marty, portrayed by Max Chernin, had a particularly moving song titled ‘We Made You’ towards the end of the second act.

But the real surprise was the discovery of Sophie Pollono, who played Pearl’s daughter, Allison. Allison is stubbornly struggling through her teenage years and resents being stuck in the Catskills for the summer, that is until she meets teenage boy Ross, who shares her tastes in music and is prepared to meet her on her mission of love and not war. With a great voice and solid acting chops, Pollono had a rocking duet with her young love, and Allison stood out as the best-written character in the show.

Tal Yarden’s scenic projections added a nice ambiance with the breeze blowing through the trees, and throughout the evening became more vibrant as we travelled towards the peace, love and psychedelia of Woodstock, but the style of the music didn’t evolve to match these shifts, and aside from some funny quips that emphasized the parallels between then and now, the musical felt redundant. Why did we need this piece of theatre? Why now? And why can’t we have more original musicals?

Carried by a talented cast and ensemble of characters, it felt like A Walk on the Moon was masquerading as an oft-sought-after feminist piece but missed the mark. With Milazzo and Gray proving a strong song-writing duo, I cannot understand why they chose to make this musical instead of an original and brilliant piece of theatre.

The production will be running at the Laura Pels Theatre until August 22.