Far From Heaven at Porchlight Music Theatre

As a devout musical theater fan, one of the things I love about the art form is how it elevates the everyday into the extraordinary. The combination of music and verse heightens the senses, transcending mere dialogue. And in the artfully crafted musical adaption of the 2002 film, Far From Heaven represents on many occasions how seemingly simple moments can be telescoped into a well of deep emotion.

Take for example the song "Tuesdays, Thursdays," where Cathy Whitaker, a 1950s housewife faced with a life turned suddenly upside-down, takes a phone call from her emotionally distant husband. As played by the radiant and heartbreaking Summer Naomi Smart, it's a potent moment that haunts.

There are many moments like this in Porchlight Music Theatre's wholly professional and mostly spine-tingling production. If anything, Far From Heaven revels too much in the words and music (by Michael Korie and Scott Frankel, respectively). In other words, there *can* be too much of a good thing -- especially when similar sentiments are expressed multiple times through intricately woven lyrical passages.

But even so, the score shines thanks to Chuck Larkin's superb music direction. I'm not kidding when I say this is among the most polished musicianship I've heard in my decade-plus of theatre going in Chicago. And given the show is mostly sung-through, this is quite important.

Director Rob Lindley has shaped this potentially long-winded evening into a pristine jewel box of a musical. The relationships between Cathy, her husband (the brooding Brandon Springman) and her gardener (a sensational Evan Tyrone Martin) are tightly drawn, with Smart, a Chicago musical theatre regular, delivering the performance of her career to-date. And in Bill Morey's stunning period dressware, Summer looks positively resplendent.

While the show's rueful conclusion isn't necessarily "happy," it's completely satisfying. Korie and Frankel are the real deal, and I greatly look forward to their next effort, War Paint, which premieres at the Goodman in June 2016.

FIRST LOOK at Porchlight's Far From Heaven from Porchlight Music Theatre on Vimeo.

"Far From Heaven" plays through March 13 at Stage 773. More information here. 

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