Do you know a straight man who is DYING to see a Broadway show? Do you have a special love for Wisconsin, Football, or people who can yell for (at least) an hour without going hoarse? If so, Lombardi is the show for you!
Okay, I will admit, I knew nothing about Vince Lombardi prior to seeing this show. I mean, I knew he had something to do with football, but apparently that is like saying Thomas Jefferson had something to do with the United States. My bad. I guess I should have studied up before the show by reading the FAQ on the Lombardi website. Or better yet, I could have taken advantage of the study guide (conveniently available as a .pdf!) that is also available on the show's website. Sadly, I did not take advantage of either of these resources. Nor did I understand that the memorabilia/lobby display was a "museum-quality" installation (courtesy of the NFL, one of the producers of the show.) I did, however, have enough forethought to invite a football lover along as my guest to the show. That really helped fill in some of the blanks for me.
I didn't hate Lombardi as a play. In fact, there was quite a bit about the show that was enjoyable. The performances were strong and the design used projections and old football film/TV footage to great effect. Dan Lauria (Lombardi) and Judith Light (Marie Lombardi) are both excellent . Lauria's Lombardi is larger than life, loves to shout, and storms around the stage in what (I gather) is a pretty convincing portrait of the real Lombardi. Marie, his wife, is almost his complete opposite as portrayed by Light. Her use of stillness combines with a naturalistic acting style to create a great counterpoint to the bombast of Lauria's Vince Lombardi. Partly because of this contrast I found myself surprisingly engaged in the story (it was all new to me!) even though it was clear that many, many, of the jokes and references were going right over my head. There were people in the audience (some wearing Packers jerseys) who definitely experienced the show on a much deeper level than I did.
Lombardi is another in a line of shows not really aimed at the traditional Broadway audience. These shows are usually pitched as being for an under-served, untapped, or non-traditional audience. I wonder how this audience was envisioned by the producers...
Despite many, many past examples, producers seem to think "new audience"="the next Rent" when usually what it really means is "not going to be able to pay rent." So, Lombardi is probably not going to run for a year, but there is still some sort of market for it? If not, I think the NFL has deep enough pockets to keep the show open as long as they want. And I have to applaud the NFL for taking a risk and trying to bring a new audience to Broadway. Unfortunately, that won't really happen unless Broadway producers consistently produce better work, and lower ticket prices (but I digress.)
All told, I basically had a nice time at Lombardi. It didn't change my life, but I learned a couple things, I laughed, I got to watch a living room spin around and it was over after 90 minutes.
Oh, about that spinning living room.... Circle in the Square is designed for performances "in the round" with the audiences surrounding a central performance space. This is one of the great theatrical challenges of the ages and has inspired many strange choices in design and direction. Last season for The Miracle Worker all of the family's furniture dangled over the performers during the show, dropping from the sky as needed. For Lombardi the designers have kept the set pieces to a minimum except for a couch, chair, and end table that are used as the Lombardi's living room. Unfortunately, my seats were behind the couch. Which sometimes made me feel a bit like a sofa table spying on the proceedings. Late in the show, during an extended couch scene, the whole living room actually spun around 360 degrees, rotating just fast enough to make it totally pointless. They should really just close the section of seats directly opposite the entrance to the theater and simply perform the show in a 3/4 thrust set up. Most of the show seems like it was directed from the control booth (on the same side as the entrance) so it would not even require any changes to the staging. They would lose seats and therefore potential revenue, but they would eliminate the disappointment that comes from feeling like a sofa table. If you are buying tickets to the show, avoid seats in the 400s!
Despite its issues, I will still recommend Lombardi to my guests. The positives outweigh the negatives, especially for people from Wisconsin.
Want to see for yourself? Click here for tickets.
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