Photograph by Thomas Crone
Ironically enough, the music geek's favorite novel didn't get musically scored until 2006. New Line Theatre brings St. Louis audiences the first production outside of New York
As a breakthrough novel by Nick Hornby, 1995's High Fidelity made working in a record store cooler than ever, while spawning countless top-five lists among its dedicated (often male) readership. For those who gravitated towards Hornby's hilariously realistic portrayal of men on the run, the possibility of a movie destroying the novel's appeal was very real.
Luckily, within a few years of the book's release, Stephen Frears' filmic adaptation worked well, with John Cusack perfectly cast as lead character Rob and a host of side players (including Tim Robbins, Jack Black and Lili Taylor). The third generation of the High Fidelity life cycle is a musical version that opened in New York in 2006, adding a from-scratch book and score to Hornby's incisive look at relationships and the pop music that frequently augments them.
Brought to St. Louis by New Line Theatre's founder and director Scott Miller, High Fidelity opens this month as a regional premiere at the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre at Washington University. Cast in the lead role of Rob, Jeff Wright's a fan of both prior forms. Especially Cusack's nailing of the part in the 2000 film version.
"I think that John Cusack is an amazing actor," Wright offers. "His work in High Fidelity and other movies completely blows me away. I'd love it if I could piece together half of the acting performance that he gives in the movie. Remember that this stage version has some very awesome original rock and pop music, too, though. I've never heard Mr. Cusack sing. Maybe I could give him a run for his money there? Who knows?"
As the central character in a fairly large ensemble cast, Wright's got some heavy lifting to do. His role's a mix of both charmer and cad, a fact not lost on the performer.
"I love it that Rob is in love with music and has made that the biggest part of his life," Wright says. "He's also introspective, cool and a little bit pathetic. I love that, too. I guess the only thing that I dislike is that he is also sort of an ass to his current and ex-girlfriends, as well as his buddies at times. I'd love to show the truth about how fully committed Rob is to his record store and rock 'n' roll. This is what he lives and breathes. I'd also like to truthfully portray the pain he experiences with losing [his girlfriend] Laura and reflecting on his bad past relationships."
It's Rob's central battle — to commit or not to commit — that drives the story's thorny humor. And even if Wright's got the most pressure to carry the production, his dozen-plus co-performers have plenty of moments to shine, on a stage that will be lined by more than a few 99-cent album covers, assuming our staging guess is correct. If online reviews of the New York debut of the show are decidedly mixed, it should be fun to see what Miller can coax from this work, informed as it is by the grandpappy of '90s "lad lit."
High Fidelity runs June 12–July 5, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre in Mallinckrodt Center at Washington University, 6445 Forsyth, between Skinker and Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through all Metrotix outlets: 314-534-1111, or online at metrotix.com. Further show details can be found at newlinetheatre.com.
