Theater Review: Sing Street

Sing Street soars at the New York Theatre Workshop. Based on the 2016 film of the same name and performed by a winning cast, this new musical is about the power of music to transform lives and bring people together.

In many ways, a stage musical is Sing Street‘s most natural iteration. The film – co-written and directed by John Carney, who also wrote and directed Once, another film-turned-musical – is an homage to the hopefulness of youth, the stage production – with a book by Enda Walsh and music from Carney and Guy Clark – further elevates the story to a transcendent, deeply moving theatrical experience that doesn’t just burrow into your soul; it gently lifts your heart out of your chest and sends it into flight.

For the uninitiated, Sing Street‘s story is simple. It follows Conor (Brenock O’Connor, who has come a long way from Westeros), a Dublin teenager whose family’s fortunes have become precarious in the economic blight of 1980s Ireland. As cracks emerge in his family and academic life, his personal life blossoms. Conor meets Raphina (Zara Devlin), an aspiring model, and begins a band to win her attention. This familiar story of Boy Tries to Woo Girl plays out against the devastating backdrop of a disintegrating society, as economic malaise puts pressure on individuals and institutions – and music offers a way to escape, to express, to transcend, to resist, to mourn, to find hope in the most trying of times.

The production immediately positions music as an antidote to the bleakness of the socio-economic crisis simmering in Dublin. The musical opens with what appears to be a dollhouse, and inside is Brendan (Gus Halper), Conor’s disillusioned, cynical, and unemployed older brother – seemingly the captive, broken soul of Ireland – who can’t bring himself to leave the confines of the family home. A radio switches on; it’s a broadcast of a nation in turmoil – the economy is bad, and people are leaving the Emerald Isle for prosperity elsewhere. Conor walks onto stage, puts on headphones, tunes out the news, and begins listening to music with a simple, contagious joy. This slippage between hope and despair, elation and sorrow, drives the production.

Much of this production’s power stems from director Rebecca Taichman’s vision. She infuses it with an understated authenticity: the actors play their own instruments, and many of them have a background in music and theater, rather than musical theater. All of this amounts to a refreshingly grounded, unaffected musical that feels naturalistic.

Indeed, the cast is universally wonderful. Brenock O’Connor is an optimistic, willful Conor who tries to kick off the weight of a world trying to bring him down. His Conor is less moody than how he is portrayed in the film – and thus more likable, though no less complicated. Zara Devlin is a more human Raphina than how the character appears on film. Her Raphina is strong, wounded, and magnetic in equal measure, and she is more than a one-dimensional muse. In O’Connor and Devlin’s hands, you get the sense that Conor and Raphina save one another, and their relationship is more believable than it comes across on film. As Brendan, Gus Halper brings warmth, humor, and pain to the role. His performance will break your heart.

This sold-out production at the New York Theater Workshop has already announced a Broadway transfer later this year. This is fantastic news – it means more people can experience the rapturous, bittersweet joy of this must-see show.

For more information on the show at New York Theatre Workshop, click here.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy