Misnomer

Rock'n'Roll by Tom Stoppard
(At Goodman Theater through June 7)

The first line on the Goodman's website regarding this show states:

"Rock 'n' Roll is a sweeping and passionate love story that spans two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years."

While that is, for the most part, accurate (I'd contest the "sweeping and passionate" part) it is not necessarily positive. There were many things I could critique about the play but without a doubt its greatest weakness was its length. Twenty years is a lot of time to cover, no matter what subject you focus on. And when one tries to cover multiple facets of a story that spans multiple decades, the narrative becomes overcrowded leaving the audience with a bit of sensory (or maybe just information) overload.

The Cold War is a big subject to take on, even if you simply approach it from a historical/political perspective. But then to mix in an ailing family, a teenage-hormone-fueled love story, and the entire history of rock'n'roll...it was just too much. It felt as if Stoppard had a problem deciding what he wanted to focus on, so he just threw in a bit of everything. Most of the political discussions were over my head and left me wondering "Is that how most dinner party discussion go?" Granted, I'm not the most informed source on Prague during the Cold War, but I don't think one should have to be a history professor (or read three pages of program notes) to grasp the core plot of a play.

The strange love story between Jan and Esme was all that really held the story together. And that became creepy in the second act when the actors switched and started playing the daughters of their Act I characters. It was a weak attraction and a weak glue that ultimately did not work. The show would have been much better off closing the curtain at intermission and excluding the segments from the 80s and 90s.

Also slightly disappointing was the lack of musical discussion. Though music had a role, it was a supporting one at best. The soundtrack was fantastic, but was always either background noise or transition music (that came in WAY too loud and was more scary than invigorating). It definitely was not integral enough to call the show "Rock'n'Roll." Thankfully, I located the soundtrack on the Goodman's website: http://www.goodmantheatre.org/Season/RocknRoll/RNRPlaylist.aspx

However, there were a few redeeming moments in the first act that made the mind-boggling second half worth sitting through. Timothy Edward Kane was great as Jan, the Communist protege turned apathetic anarchist with the vinyl collection the fueled every music-related moment of the show. But the real show stealer was Mary Beth Fischer as Eleanor, whose portrayal of a scholarly, accomplished woman torn apart and isolated by breast cancer brought me to tears.

All in all, a worthwhile experience, but definitely not for the faint-hearted or those who can't stand more than 10 minutes of uncomfortable political discussions over dinner.