A White House Cantata

The ambiguity of the show's plot results from one main factor; namely, it consists of a historically based "macro-narrative" of our nation's history, lasting over a century and spanning every presidential administration from George Washington to Theodore Roosevelt. It does not happen at one specific point in history, as does, say, "1776." It has four main characters: the President and First Lady, and two slaves named Lud and Seena.

Here is where it gets confusing - all of the different presidents and first ladies are played by the same actor and actress (in this case, Thomas Hampson and June Anderson) and both of the Lud, Seena, and all of THEIR descendants are played by the same actors (as well as a boy who plays Lud in his youth). If you are finding this explanation confusing, then imagine going and seeing this show in a theater in 1976 and trying to figure out what was happening. As I said earlier, the reasons for the show's failure are very easy to diagnose.

Now, to answer the old question, "What is this show about?". This show is, in its truest sense, about the diffuculties of maintaining a democratic society. When Abagail Adams charges Lud (the young boy who is then a slave in the White House) to "Take Care of This House," a song which is really the key to the whole work, she is presenting him with nothing less than the challenge of attempting a democratic society; and it is his job, everyone's job to "take care of this house", since, as Mrs. Adams says, "this house is the hope of us all." In the show, the White House comes to represent the nation itself, and as such it might be said that the it is White House more than any particular person that is the real hero of the whole work.

The music in the show is absolutely superb. Bernstein wrote some of his finest music for this, from the tragic "Prelude" (which you may know from the composer's "Songfest"), to the frustration of James Monroe over the presence of slavery in an ostensibly free society in "The Monroviad," to the regal nobility of "To Make Us Proud," where Theodore Roosevelt sings,

"Let rage be fearless
And faith be loud,
This land needs love
To make us proud."

Bernstein forbid a cast recording after "1600" closed following only seven performances on Broadway. Until now, only "Take Care of This House" obtained a life of its own; the rest of the score, though parts were later recycled by Bernstein in other pieces, languished unheard. Finally, someone has been interested enough to take approximately half of Bernstein's massive score and make an absolutely superb recording of it. "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" is, at last, available (albeit in a drastically abridged form) for those who might have been wondering what exactly the show was about.

The score is a masterpiece and this recording is first-rate. Though many reviewers have complained about the "operatic" performances on the disc, Bernstein set Lerner's lyrics in an operatic fashion. Lerner, a superb interpreter of his own songs, said numerous times that the songs in "1600" were the only ones he wasn't able to sing. The performances are magnificent, exactly as Bernstein intended for them to be sung. This wasn't written to be standard Broadway fare. Patricia Routledge, who played the First Ladies during the brief Broadway run, said she felt one of the show's flaws was that Lerner was trying to write another musical while Bernstein was writing a grand opera. She had a point.

The orchestrations (by Bernstein and two others) are superb, coloring the music to perfection. The conducting and vocals are fantastic, and if there is any doubt that "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," despite its confusing plot, was a major achievement (musically and lyrically), this recording should dispel that idea. Lerner's lyrics are witty, literate, by turns hilarious and poignant: a tremendous display of lyrical virtuosity. Bernstein's score contains some of the most vital, diverse and accomplished music of his career. No wonder the musical's failure was such a crushing blow to him; he had to have known how good the score was, and to have it lost after only seven performances was a shame.

"A White House Cantata" is a unique experience, and worth every penny of its price.