Theater: Dead Serious

Chances are slim that you will soon be hearing the following line spoken in theatergoing homes across America: "Hey, honey, let's grab the kids, fly to New York and catch that new musical The Dead!" Yet, oddly, a musicalized version of James Joyce's somber short story has been one of the most anticipated events of the off-Broadway season. A star-filled cast (Christopher Walken, Blair Brown, Sally Ann Howes) has perked up interest in what is either the most intriguing or the stupidest idea for a musical in years.

Alas, James Joyce's The Dead (adding the author's name still won't boost the group sales) turns out to be neither wondrous nor wacky but just kind of wan. The musical numbers, written in traditional Irish style by Shaun Davey, are, with a couple of exceptions, simply songs being performed at Julia and Kate Morkan's annual Christmastime gathering--a gathering that provides an epiphany for their nephew Gabriel.

Despite some sweet moments and sincere performances, the show fails to register. One problem is that adapter Richard Nelson has moved the pivot of the story--a song that stirs memories in Gabriel's wife (Brown) of a long-dead boy who once loved her--to earlier in the evening, thus throwing off the rhythm of the piece. (Another change: she sings the song rather than hears it.) What's more, Walken seems blandly disengaged as Gabriel, missing the psychological tension, singing indifferently and barely hinting at an Irish accent. Walken used to be a Broadway dancer, but here he's just a misstep.

--By Richard Zoglin