Days of Wine and Roses review

Reuniting The Light in the Piazza composer and lyricist Adam Guettel with book writer Craig Lucas, new Off-Broadway musical Days of Wine and Roses does not recreate that show’s award-winning magic. This Michael Greif production, starring Broadway luminaries Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James, remains aloof and, while it’s a pleasure to watch O’Hara and James work, the hurried musical fails to engage emotionally.

Joe Clay (James) is a hard-drinking PR man who hates the part of his job that involves rounding up women to entertain his clients. Then he encounters one woman, Kirsten (O’Hara), who is unlike any other. They fall fast for each other, but their relationship deepens through booze. After an accidental fire and job losses, they try to sober up.

The musical is based on the 1958 teleplay and 1962 film of the same name. At a time when alcoholism was greatly misunderstood, those works brought attention to the illness. The musical closely tracks the now-dated film, which unfortunately limits the material. It ends up as a cautionary tale from the distant past rather than something more relevant.

Some changes made to the source material help, but they are too tentative. One suggests a reason for Joe’s alcoholism comes from his time in the army during the Korean War: this unfortunately gives him a brief, awkward war flashback (expressed through garish green lights).

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