Mary DeLan and Paul Luoma (Photo by James Esposito)
Reviewed by Madison Mellon
Chromolume Theatre at the Zephyr Theatre
Through November 30
If I had to recommend a Sondheim musical to someone unfamiliar his work, Passion would be near the bottom of the list. In fact, if I had to recommend a show to introduce someone to musical theater as a whole, it would still rank near the bottom. And yet, it is one of my favorite musicals. Its difficulty is its brilliance: Passion is uncomfortable, confronting, relentlessly earnest, and stripped to the nerve. It explores obsession, vulnerability, and the parts of human longing most people would prefer to leave unexamined. This is precisely why so few companies attempt it. For that reason alone, Chromolume’s production feels like a gift, even if it doesn’t achieve the fragile tightrope balance the material requires.
Passion follows Giorgio (Paul Luoma), a young soldier carrying on an idyllic affair with the married Clara (Mary DeLan). When Giorgio is transferred to a remote outpost, he meets Fosca (Nora Elkind), the sickly, desperately lonely cousin of his commanding officer. Fosca’s obsessive fixation on Giorgio evolves into a tumultuous connection that challenges his entire understanding of love.
The tone and pacing of Passion are exacting, and here the production is hindered by its staging. The Zephyr Theatre’s tight quarters pose inherent challenges, but this production often feels like it is fighting these limitations rather than adapting to them. In many instances, the production seems to have taken inspiration from the Broadway staging rather than creating solutions more suited to the space. Beds, tables, and other set pieces are noisily hauled on and offstage, even during scenes, and curtains in the wings open and close audibly throughout. Music director Joshua Bartley has done a lovely job of translating Sondheim’s hypnotic score to just a keyboard and drums, but the cumulative noise of constant moving parts, un-miked performers, and actors frequently delivering lyrics from the aisle lead to a persistent muddiness.
Passion demands razor-sharp precision: the lyrics and dialogue are rich and much of the narrative unfolds through letters. Without that precision, the score feels languid rather than cumulatively suffocating, and the shifting dynamics between the characters lose coherence. The central romance strains credulity in the best of productions, so it is essential that every moment is taken advantage of to allow the audience to buy in. While none of the production’s messiness is egregious, it cumulatively creates a lack of clarity that is never quite overcome.
The cast, to their credit, mostly avoid the story’s major interpretive traps. Nora Elkind makes Fosca more sympathetic and grounded than the garish caricature she has the potential to become, and her vocal approach supports that restraint. Paul Luoma’s Giorgio has warmth and humanity — although the production never quite conveys what sets him so completely apart from the other soldiers and why Fosca is so forcefully drawn to him. Mary DeLan’s Clara is poised and vocally assured, charting a believable emotional arc. Still, the staging sidelines her: often physically distant in the aisles as she reads letters, she feels visually and aurally peripheral when she should be a central foil to Fosca.
There is an anecdote from Passion’s original Broadway run: during one performance, an audience member grew so exasperated that they leapt to their feet and shouted, “Die, Fosca, die!” While not an endorsement, it is a testament to the story’s visceral power. This Passion never quite reaches that boiling point, though director James Esposito’s commitment to the material is evident throughout. What emerges is a production with solid performances and compelling moments throughout, but the relentless psychological pressure that defines Passion never sharpens into focus.
Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat.-Sun., 2 pm; thru Nov. 30. https://chrtheatre.com/ Running time: 2 hours with no intermission.
