‘Kid From Brooklyn’ Leaves Danny Kaye M.I.A.

The life story of the incomparable Danny Kaye, whose career spanned Broadway, film and television, is currently on stage in a frantic two hour romp at the Mercury Theatre. The Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Musical, which borrows it's title from the film that made Kaye a bone fide movie star, follows the entertainer from his ‘Borscht Belt' beginnings to his remarkable charity work as ambassador for the UNICEF foundation. Along the way, we see glimpses at what shaped the often moody but amazingly resilient performer including his long but turbulent marriage to Sylvia Fine, who is credited for being the women who discovered Kaye.

Though the idea of this musical seems good on paper, it is in the execution that The Kid From Brooklyn stumbles. With a one dimensional book by Mark Childers and Peter J. Loewy (who also directed the piece) the pace is so quick that at first, it is hard to make sense of Kaye's background.

Having a minimal four person cast, in which two of the actors plays numerous characters (Adam Lebow and Christina Purcell), never allows for any type of depth of the ancillary characters, all of whom had such an impact on Kaye's life. Characters such as Eve Arden, Gertrude Lawrence, Cole Porter, Samuel Goldwyn and Eddie Dukoff come off as mere caricatures, which when put up against the ultimate caricature of Kaye, fails to capture any emotion.

Karin Leone's Sylvia Fine has the most well rounded character of the piece and Leone does some nice work with both the emotional disconnect that occurs after decades with Kaye as well as having a lovely alto belt with "It Never Entered My Mind" and "I Can Do Wonders With You". As Kaye's agent, writer and wife, Fine goes from being a powerhouse female at a time when few, if any, existed, to being pushed aside both emotionally and professionally by Kaye as his career (and his sexuality) blossomed.

All of this manic storytelling is left firmly on the lap of man who is playing Mr. Kaye, Brian Childers. Childers certainly mimics and channels Kaye, however, it is the heart of the beloved performer that is missing. Though the script is mostly at fault, it was also in Childer's musical numbers that the artistry of Kaye was gone. Kaye's signature patter-song, "Tchaikovsky, and other Russians", from the musical Lady In The Dark, which should be a show stopper here, feels flat and ill conceived. To the contrary, watching Mark Nadler, who is currently performing the song in Russian On The Side at the Royal George Theatre, shows more of Kaye's essence while not imitating him.

A problem that the actors should not have to deal with is the uneven and annoying sound problems that plagued almost every one of the musical numbers. The four piece band constantly overwhelms the singers and there were at lease six different occasions where microphone "pops" startled some of the actors.

The Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Musical is playing an open ended run at the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. For tickets and show times please visit www.kidfrombrooklynmusical.com or call the box office (773) 325-1700.