Galileo looks into the deep black sky and allows himself to be seduced by the mysteries of the cosmos.
Four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza (“Company”) fascinates within the role of the headstrong astronomer, a deeply religious man who hardens into atheism in “Galileo: A Rock Musical,” an unpredictable cautionary tale written by Emmy winner Danny Strong and directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening,” “American Idiot”).
While the production is peppered with explosive moments in its world premiere on the Berkeley Repertory Theater, the tragedy of the Seventeenth-century polymath never flares up on this languid, three-hour production.
Part of the issue is that Galileo is such an eccentric figure, a renegade genius who was dismissed as a failure in his time, however the rating here is thoroughly generic, the choreography twists and the book skims the surface of the Characters. Only the star projections (by Jason H. Thompson and Kaitlyn Pietras) are suitably imaginative.
Unlike Esparza's stunning performance, the music doesn't appear to suit the person.
The other big flaw is that this musical reveals little that we didn't already know in regards to the famous man of science. Where it would shed some light, it tends to gloss over the small print, equivalent to why Galileo gave his daughter to the church and why exactly his bosom friend the bishop (a sensitive turn by Jeremy Kushnier) betrayed him after a few years of faithfulness.
As it’s, the plot points lack urgency because all of us already know the ending. Galileo's fate is up within the air when he’s summoned to Rome before the Inquisition to defend his heretical theory that the earth revolves across the sun, at a time when exploring the heavens with a telescope was an act of blasphemy is.
Galileo confronts the brutality of the Church in a time when science, reason and decency were often subjected to brutal violence. Heretics were tortured until they recanted or were burned on the stake. As all the time, power is more vital than truth.
To make clear: the ultimate image is way too intrusive with its contemporary parallels.
However, Esparza beautifully captures the joys of discovery. He lights up the stage together with his passion for science, with a mercurial performance that’s alternately sharp and subtle.
An endearing relationship also develops between the astronomer and his lifelong clergyman friend, who is about to change into Pope. The ease and lightness between them provides a refreshing contrast to the lethargic tone and pace of much of the show.
Madalynn Mathews can also be fascinating as Galileo's sensible daughter Virginia, too poor for a correct dowry and too smart to provide up her curiosity in regards to the nunnery.
That's why the musical leaps about her conversion to piety are so shocking. Her story arc just doesn't make sense and the refrain “Louder” is repeated too repeatedly. Virginia deserves much more nuance on the page.
What the musical highlights is the exciting nature of daring leaps of thought. Not only are we not the middle of the universe, we are only a small speck of blue in the course of the vast, swirling tapestry of heaven.
The fragility of our place within the universe is the actual point here, and that theme, if not the show itself, resonates long after the curtain falls.
“GALILEO: A ROCK MUSICAL”
Book by Danny Strong, music and lyrics by Michael Weiner and Zoe Sarnak, presented by Berkeley Repertory Theater
Through: twenty third June
Where: Berkeley Rep's Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley
Duration: 3 hours, one break
Tickets: $29.50-$139 (subject to vary); www.berkeleyrep.org
image credit : www.mercurynews.com