Glenn’s Trumpet Notes

George and Lucy. Photo by Tracy Martin

My wife and I “opened” our Christmas gift on the 19th of April—that’s when we went to see the musical, “A Room with a View,” at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle with tickets given to us by our daughter and son-in-law last December. We had great seats on the main floor, mid-way down toward the stage.

The musical is based on the 1908 novel by E. M. Forster, English author of novels, short stories, and essays. He was the author I probably would have concentrated on, had I gone for a post-graduate degree in English literature. To me, he was the academic, the professor, the critic, who tried to do what he studied, reviewed, and taught. That is, he tried to defy the adage, “Those who cannot do, teach.” To me, his novels are excellent but never literary masterpieces.

E. M. Forster, 1879-1970

A Rome with a View, the third of sixth published novels, is said to be his lightest, most optimistic, and popular. Like most of his other works, this one explores the conflicts of propriety and class as Lucy Honeychurch faces the choice of a husband–the free-thinking, high spirited George Emerson or the repressed, snobbish aesthete, Cecil Vyse.

These characters sing all the way through this romantic musical comedy. But it’s a funny thing—none of the 20 songs is easily memorable. I like to come out of a musical humming a great tune. Not here, not this one. Where’s a song like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'” (Oklahoma!), “Tomorrow” (Annie), “Ya Got Trouble” (The Music Man), “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” (Camelot), “Get Me to the Church on Time” (My Fair Lady), and many more? Come on, guys, write a nice melody for your lyrics!

The 5th Avenue Theatre is renowned for producing and developing new musicals. Nine of the 17 new works which have premiered at The 5th since 2001, have later opened on Broadway. Whether “A Room with a View” will do so is yet to be determined. The 5th has more than 25,000 season subscribers. More than 300,000 audience members attend performances there each year. Incidentally, in The 5th Avenue Theatre Orchestra, the principal trumpet is Brad Allison, and Trumpet 2 is Paul Baron.

The production photos in this post are courtesy of The 5th Avenue Theatre. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.