Wonderful Town, the second Broadway collaboration between Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and to a lesser extent Jerome Robbins, was created during the height of McCarthyism, a menace that must have weighed heavily on the show’s authors. Robbins—who’d choreographed the trio’s first production, On the Town, and doctored important sections of Wonderful Town without credit—landed before the House Un-American Activities Committee a few months after the show opened in early 1953. Among the names he gave to the committee was Jerome Chodorov, who cowrote the show’s book. Two months later the State Department refused to renew Bernstein’s passport until he signed an affidavit swearing he wasn’t a communist.
Zimmerman wisely acknowledges the story’s simplicity; Todd Rosenthal’s humorous set makes every building, car, train, and passing cloud a two-dimensional cutout. Too often the supporting characters surpass that by being one-dimensional, but the leads find more nuance, particularly Bri Sudia, who as Ruth makes a predictable path seem surprising, bringing nearly as much ingenuity, intricacy, and panache to her performance as Bernstein brought to his score. It’s her show from start to finish. v
Through 10/23: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM (except 9/24, 8 PM only), Sun 2 and 7:30 PM; also Tue 10/4, 7:30 PM Goodman Theatre 170 N. Dearborn 312-443-3800goodmantheatre.org $18-$94
