Ludwig van Beethoven / Nick & Nora

On this day in classical music: Ludwig van Beethoven conducted the premiere of his “Symphony No. 7” in Vienna in 1813. Dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries, the Seventh of Beethoven’s nine symphonies employs elements of dance, particularly in its use of dotted rhythms and repeated rhythmic figures. Long considered a masterpiece of rhythmic innovation and musical invention, the Seventh hasn’t always enjoyed unqualified praise. British conductor Thomas Beecham once posed the following question about the third movement: “What can you do with it? It’s like a lot of yaks jumping about.” Listen to Carlos Kleiber and the Bavarian State Symphony perform the third movement of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A Major.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td3mRRne39I&playnext=1&list=PL7279D68C011D54F9&feature=results_video

On this day in the musical theatre: “Nick & Nora,” a musical based on detectives Nick and Nora Charles from Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Thin Man,” opened on Broadway in 1991. Featuring a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Richard Matlby, Jr. and music by Charles Strouse, “Nick & Nora” followed the title characters in their investigation of the murder of a bookkeeper on a film production in Hollywood. This was the sixth successive flop for Strouse following the enormous success of “Annie” in 1977. The half dozen musicals had a combined run of just 89 performances, with two (“Bring Back Birdie” and “Rags”) amassing only four performances each, and another two (“A Broadway Musical” and “Dance a Little Closer”) closing on opening night. Curiously, Strouse is rarely to blame for the failure of the musicals for which he contributes music and the nine-performance run of “Nick & Nora” is a perfect example of a fine score married to an ineffective narrative. Listen to “As Long As You’re Happy” from a Neglected Musicals presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDMAfcBiojg

Musical musings: Like the less-than-gifted celebrity who is famous for being famous, this musical will no doubt always be remembered, and not without fondness, for its troubled preview period, its much-postponed opening, its hassles with snooping journalists and its conflict with the city’s Consumer Affairs Commissioner. Indeed, the story of “Nick and Nora” in previews, should it ever be fully known, might in itself make for a riotous, 1930’s-style screwball-comedy musical. But the plodding show that has emerged from all this tumult is, a few bright spots notwithstanding, an almost instantly forgettable mediocrity. For starters, this production might have spent a little less time searching for the perfect Asta and a lot more time trying to find the right Nick and Nora. Barry Bostwick is a handsome leading man with an agreeable manner and sturdy voice, and Joanna Gleason, better still, is an astringent comic actress with impeccable timing and her own strong voice. But if either of these talents, together or separately, has the larger-than-life personality or all-around musical-comedy pizazz it takes to ignite a star-centric Broadway musical, that incandescence is kept under a shroud in “Nick and Nora.” Faith Prince fares far better in the role of the evening’s ubiquitous murder victim, Lorraine, a platinum-wigged film-industry bookkeeper who, among other attacks on her dubious character, is accused of trying to “play Barbara Stanwyck with Jean Harlow hair.” Though Lorraine is already dead when the show begins, she keeps popping up again and again as her murder is re-enacted in repeated flashbacks to the scene and night of the crime. The dizzy Ms. Prince not only takes a mean pratfall each time the gunshots ring out but also brings a brash, belting delivery to “Men,” a musical diatribe that almost does to its satirical target what Miss Hannigan did to “Little Girls” in Mr. Strouse’s “Annie.” We can look forward to hearing a lot more from Ms. Prince. In the meantime, there is no escaping the unfortunate fact that the liveliest thing in “Nick and Nora” is a corpse. – Ben Brantley in The New York Times

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