By James V. Ruocco
Love is never easy.
Because people get more complex as the years go by, they have more sharply defined pyschological peaks and valleys. Therefore, the true romantic believer finds real-world air harder and harder to breathe. Yet in the back of his mind, he is still obsessed with finding the perfect love - one that will fill his heart with joy and last forever.
With "Aspects of Love," composer Andrew Lloyd Webber - taking a breather from stories about dancing cats, rollerskating trains and phantoms of the Paris Opera - has written a musical about real people who look at love and (naturally) sex with a practiced and understanding eye.
All four - Rose, Alex, George and Giulietta - hold up a wise mirror to life and love as we all know it can be lived, singing the merchandisable words and music of this passionate, uplifting and tender-hearted Andrew Lloyd Webber/Don Black-Charles Hart score.
In assembling "Aspects of Love," Andrew Lloyd Webber uses David Garnett's 1955 novella as his inspiration. The never-ending aspects - heterosexual couplings, lesbianism, voyeurism, promiscuity, May-December romance and obsessiveness - are entertaining, sexy, clever, amusing and never buffoonish or infantile. They are just passionate enough to get under our skin and get us thinking.
When compared to Webber's previous works - "Evita," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Cats" and the West End production of "Starlight Express"- "Aspects of Love" is in a class by itself. It is catchy. It is fast-moving. It is charming. It is appropriate. It is direct. It is by no means awkward or silly as it dances about, working from a romantic, breezy musical blueprint where nearly every song and sequence is memorable.
In the past, Webber has paced his songs - solos, sextets, romantic duets, ballads, upbeat chorus numbers - in accordance with the show's structure and central theme. Here, that signature effervescence and tempting melodrama is present throughout each act as Webber rotates the action from each scene seamlessly with songs that heighten the story's momentum and give each of the leading players some of the best-sounding material to sing and perform.
The production opens with the hauntingly beautiful ballad "Love Changes Everything," a song that Webber uses to address the ever-changing aspects of love. "Seeing is Believing," a romantic ballad where Alex and Rose express their love, is yet another gorgeous romantic tune that beguiles, charms and leaves you breathless as does "Anything But Lonely," which is sung by Rose in Act II. Other standouts that are given the full melodic treatment by the composer and his dual team of lyricists are "There Is More to Love," "Hand Me and Wine and the Dice," "A Memory of a Happy Moment" and "The First Man You Remember." All four are pleasantly assured, emotionally effective and lyrically pungent.
If there is a secret to the charm and freshness of "Aspects of Love," it's the way director Trevor Nunn sweetly blends the predictable with the unexpected surprise. Although "Aspects" presents lovers who everyone knows are meant for each other, the joy for the spectator comes from watching how Nunn orchestrates this wild, impromptu, arresting game of musical chairs and beds. How it all comes together romantically piques interest as does the musical's surprise ending where Alex makes his final choice in the name of love.
Michael Ball makes his Broadway debut after creating the role of Alex in the West End production of "Aspects." The boyish and personable Ball offers a splendid, polished performance that is sure to capture the attention of Tony Award voters in the months ahead. As evidenced in the London production of "Les Miserables" (he originated the role of Marius), Ball's singing comes straight from the heart. Every one of his vocals is rich, effective and expressive and showcased to the fullest throughout the two act musical.
Ann Crumb is a revelation as Rose Vibert. She sings with poise, command, vigor and sophistication, all befitting the character she is portraying. She has immediate chemistry with Ball, which works wonderfully well, given their very passionate, torrid onstage romance. As "Aspects" evolves, Crumb is also just as effective - both musically and dramatically - in subsequent scenes involving the show's other main characters, played by Kathleen Rowe McAllen and Kevin Colson.
McAllen, in the role of free-spirited, bisexual sculptress Giulietta Trapani, brings the right level of passion, humanity and boldness to her character. In Act II, she delivers her two big musical numbers numbers - "There Is More to Love" and Hand Me the Wine and the Dice" - with such natural strength and invention, they quickly become showstoppers that are not easily forgotten. Kevin Colson is well cast as Alex's uncle George Dillingham, who is also the former lover of Giulietta Trapani. It's a part that is instinctively emotional, cynical, poignant and righteous. In character, Colson hits all of these marks splendidly using his own propulsive energy and creativity to full advantage.
The Broadway production of "Aspects of Love" opened April 8, 1990 at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran through March 2, 1991 for a total of 377 performances. It starred Michael Ball as Alex Dillingham, Ann Crumb as Rose Vibert, Kathleen Rowe McAllen as Giulietta Trapani and Kevin Colson as George Dillingham. It was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, but didn't win any.
(This review was originally published on April 27, 1990. Additional changes including minor edits, cuts, new commentary and verbiage were incorporated on June 18, 2020)
