It was a dark and stormy night – quite literally – when I saw the History Theatre’s production of “Baby Case,†a dark and stormy musical retelling of the “trial of the century,†as it was dubbed. The kidnapping and murder of Charles and Anne Lindbergh’s baby was an excruciating personal tragedy for the young couple, turned into a public obsession by the media frenzy surrounding it.
Writer/composer Michael Ogborn has masterfully captured the raucous atmosphere that fed on itself, mounting with every new bit of information – factual or not – and the senseless pain it caused. Musical details beautifully evoke the period and set up the mood and message: the sardonic snap in “Dirty Dishes,†performed masterfully by Emily A. Grodzik as the maid, Violet; the nurse’s heart-racing panic in “Nurse’s Song,†in which Kim Chambers Otto skillfully builds the tension. In terms of writing music and lyrics, Ogborn absolutely has it, conveying the emotional content with every note and rest and placing them in a carefully crafted musical arc.
Director Ron Peluso has gathered a cast of vocal superstars – all of them playing more than one role in production that glides and zips from one scene, one song, one thought to another with perfect timing and nothing to distract. I’d prefer an acting style for the character roles that’s toned down, but I suppose one could argue that it fit the period.
Peter Middlecamp plays both Charles Lindbergh and the man convicted of the crime, Bruno Hauptman. This was an interesting treatment, but sets up an unavoidable comparison in the portrayals. Middlecamp was a shy and affable Lindbergh, but he was perfect as Hauptman, a man caught in a set of circumstances that cost him his life. “No, I Never Did†was just brilliant. Middlecamp has a voice that seems to do the impossible, soaring from one octave to another. So beautiful!
Kendall Anne Thompson as Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Anna Hauptmann gave us a young mother, in particular, who through it all maintained a dignified presence. She couldn’t have portrayed Anne’s emptiness in “Lullaby,†a song I think should be renamed “Watch Over Me,†any better. It was absolutely gorgeous.
The set on which the story unfolds is stunning, highly functional and maximized to portray scores of characters in dozens of locales. Paired with expert costuming, the show was visually spot on.
This musical has won several awards, particularly for music and lyrics, which it certainly deserves. I’d take issue with a couple of libretto calls: it felt heavy on female stereotyping, portraying most women as either helpless, tragic figures or complete ditzes, while the men manipulated the course of events. We know better. The overly long and detailed treatment of the trial and execution of Bruno Hauptman pulled me away from the Lindbergh’s story, which provides (in real life) a much more satisfying ending to the larger story than this play allowed.
The story, its aftermath and repercussions are well known, so what’s to tell? As time and historical perspective have forced light into the darkest corners, the writer’s premise is that the media is to be blamed. For everything. Furthermore, there is the suggestion that not much has changed. This is a heavy burden to carry for two and a half hours of singing and dancing. In fact, it’s hard to get past it, and I question how wide an audience can be sustained with such an existential outlook. We know that the Lindbergh’s went on to have more children. Charles became a controversial and powerful political figure; Anne an acclaimed author. She, in particular, provides the opportunity to offer the audience a sliver of light, but Ogborn did not. No peace, no real call to action, either.
But what it does it does so well; I’ll still enthusiastically recommend it. “Baby Case†runs through November 3.