Yank

Two things strike you when watching the world premiere of brothers David and Joseph Zellnik’s new musical Yank at the third annual Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival: The Zellniks have penned a very promising musical, and the festival still has a way to go when it comes to recruiting acting talent.

The Zellniks are clearly in love with the musical theater form; Yank is an old-fashioned musical in the style of Oklahoma!, yet it’s far from an entirely sunny show. How could it be? Only the greatest of optimists could imagine that a 1940’s love affair between an army private and a young, male war journalist would have a happy ending.

Recalling the “best years” of his life from a wheelchair in a nursing home, Stu (Mathew Hultgreen) takes us back to his days in the army during WWII.
He is immediately tabbed by what he describes as his “movie perfect” military unit — an American blend of men representing various geographical, cultural, and social backgrounds — as being a little “light in the loafers.” Those comments are quelled when the unit’s unofficial leader, Mitch (Eric Schneider), intervenes and befriends the shy gay man. Stu is immediately smitten with his knight in shining khakis, and why not? Schneider is a good looking young man, and his performance is the best in the show.

The budding romance between the eager Stu and unsure Mitch is cut short when Stu meets Artie, a gay journalist who offers the young man a position with the patriotic magazine Yank. Of course, this being musical theater, Mitch and Stu are soon reunited; their romance blossoms and soon the two are planning a lifetime of bliss. However, the army’s policy on such intimate fraternization among its troops was pretty much the same in the 1940s as it is today. When Mitch and Stu are found out, it doesn’t go well for them or for the extroverted Artie.

David Zellnik’s lyrics are far sharper than his overtly sentimental dialogue, and brother Joseph’s music is delightful, so Yank‘s score is consistently engaging. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival continues to operate on a woefully inadequate budget, and the lack of funds hampers director Igor Goldin’s ability to give the musical a fully-realized production. The resourceful Goldin makes the most out of the bare bones set of two gray benches, a single bunk-bed, and a pair of white screens.

Goldin is not always as successful in coaxing proficient performances from his inexperienced cast. Kate Brennan is overwhelmed in her attempt to perform all the female roles; her characterizations seem one-dimensional, and her galling rendition of the song “Blue Twilight” stops the show in its tracks. Hultgreen’s inexperience shows at times, though his naiveté serves him well in his portrayal of the innocent Stu. A strong supporting performance is turned in by Peter John Rios as Artie, and his delightful tap dance number with Hultgreen is well staged by choreographer Chase Brock. The work of the actors playing the other men who constitute the unit is passable at best.

Filled with a host of lovely songs including the wonderfully romantic “Just True,” the saucy “Betty,” and the memorable “Remembering You,” Yank has the potential to make some noise when it appears this fall at the second annual New York Musical Theatre Festival. It will need some fixing: A shower scene is awkward rather than fun as it now stands, and an extended dream ballet communicates little. But if these and a few other trouble spots can be ironed out, Yank will have a bright future indeed.