Elegies: A Song Cycle

Multi Tony award-winning composer and lyricist William Finn's Elegies: A Song Cycle was brought stylishly to life last night at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club by five skillful and committed performers. It seemed for all the world as if we were in an intimate Manhattan cabaret room, so deeply did the cast draw us into an intricate world of love, remembrance and loss, recounting stories from the lives of various characters whose fates were at times intertwined.

Elegies  is a beautiful celebration of life with that distinctive New York spirit at its heart, as director Stephen Wheat clearly understood and communicated through his terrific team. Accompanied by Vicky Jacobs' understated, elegant piano, they brought Finn's characters to fully dimensional life, in songs which run the full gamut of human emotions.

Much of the show is about coming to terms with death through an appreciation of life, about human resilience and the triumph of the spirit - and everyone in the cast performed the often confronting, emotionally revealing material with absolute conviction and often great depth. Every performer had their moments, but particularly noteworthy were Martin Croft, who delivered his elegy to Mark's All-male Thanksgiving with beautiful subtlety, and Anne Wood who was utterly compelling. Alas, the show was one night only, but there is talk of an encore performance, so those who missed out may get another opportunity to see this captivating, beautifully directed and performed piece.

Alex Paige

Photographer: Emily Cascarino