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The ensemble cast of A New Brain, presented by Pride Arts at the Center on Halsted, through Sept. 14 (photo courtesy of Oomphotography)<\/p>\nPride Arts\u00a0kicks\u00a0off its 2025-2026 season\u00a0in its new\u00a0home, the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at the Center on Halsted,\u00a0with\u00a0a lively\u00a0staging of\u00a0A New Brain, the 1998 musical by composer\/lyricist\u00a0William Finn, with a book by Finn and James Lapine.\u00a0At a lickety-split\u00a0100 minutes, the\u00a0production delivers\u00a0Finn\u2019s\u00a0bouncing\u00a0jazz-inflected\u00a0score\u00a0with\u00a0charm\u00a0as directed\u00a0by\u00a0Jay\u00a0Espano\u00a0and choreographed by\u00a0Britta Schlicht.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A New Brain\u00a0is\u00a0a gay musical in the sense that Finn\u00a0(1952-2025)\u00a0was gay, the\u00a0lead character\u00a0also\u00a0is gay and a composer,\u00a0and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0based on a\u00a0health crisis which threatened\u00a0Finn\u2019s life.\u00a0No,\u00a0not\u00a0AIDS\u00a0nor anything specifically gay.\u00a0Rather,\u00a0Gordon\u00a0Michael Schwinn\u00a0(Dakotta\u00a0Hagar)\u00a0needs brain surgery to correct tangled blood vessels depriving his\u00a0noggin\u00a0of\u00a0oxygen.\u00a0Apart from that, Gordo\u2014as\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0called\u2014has\u00a0a\u00a0nice\u00a0life.<\/p>\n
Sure, his boss is a\u00a0schmuck, a kids\u2019 TV star who plays\u00a0Mr. Bungee, a frog (Taylor Bailey). Still\u00a0Gordo\u00a0seems to have an okay job writing songs for Mr. Bungee, definitely has a\u00a0sweetly\u00a0devoted boyfriend, Roger (Beck Hokanson),\u00a0and has a supportive mother (Michelle McKenzie-Voight) and sister\u00a0(Caitlin Preuss).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ensemble cast of A New Brain, presented by Pride Arts at the Center on Halsted, through Sept. 14 (photo courtesy of Oomphotography)<\/p>\n
Before and after\u00a0his surgery,\u00a0Gordo\u00a0obsesses\u00a0over\u00a0life, the songs\u00a0he has\u00a0yet to write, what\u00a0his\u00a0death would be like, and whether-or-not\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0leave any legacy.\u00a0Pretty normal, I imagine,\u00a0if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a composer\u00a0having brain surgery\u00a0(vs.\u00a0a\u00a0pudding manufacturer, say);\u00a0I had nothing like that\u00a0when I had my hips replaced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So,\u00a0A\u00a0New Brain\u00a0has musical pizazz but not much conflict.\u00a0Self-absorbed Gordo expresses\u00a0little angst over the idea that he could die, and his\u00a0health crisis is imposed by chance\u00a0and\u00a0genetics,\u00a0not by\u00a0his own actions or emotions. His love\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0forbidden, his family\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0reject him,\u00a0he makes no stupid mistakes, he\u00a0defies no\u00a0authority, all of\u00a0which are more typical sources of dramatic complications.\u00a0Okay, he\u00a0fails to\u00a0give money to a homeless lady (Lena Simone), but she has her revenge\u00a0later on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0impossible\u00a0to resist Finn\u2019s\u00a0pulsing\u00a0pop\/jazz\u00a0rhythms\u00a0and smart lyrics, which are poetic, sassy\u00a0or\u00a0plot-driven\u00a0as each song situation requires. They are\u00a0delivered\u00a0with clarity\u00a0by a\u00a0vocally appealing\u00a0cast and\u00a0a sensational five-piece band, all under musical director Robert Ollis,\u00a0a fixture\u00a0at\u00a0Pride Arts since the Late Jurassic Period\u00a0who\u00a0only gets\u00a0better and better.\u00a0Everyone in the strong 10-person cast has at least a brief musical solo in Finn\u2019s through-sung score, which involves\u00a0much\u00a0musical give-and-take among ensemble members\u00a0and a\u00a0large chorus role,\u00a0offering some of Finn\u2019s richest writing. They are an impressive group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among lead players, Hokanson as Roger has the sweetest voice and the prettiest songs to sing,\u00a0while\u00a0McKenzie-Voight and Simone\u00a0deliver\u00a0the power numbers\u00a0and the most\u00a0emotionally charged\u00a0songs\u00a0with authority, McKenzie-Voights\u2019 \u201cThe Music Still Plays On\u201d being the show\u2019s emotional center. Meanwhile,\u00a0Taylor Bailey as Mr. Bungee\u00a0is a character actor\u2019s dream; a more-imposing version of Seinfeld\u2019s Newman\u00a0with a just-right voice,\u00a0perfect\u00a0sardonic comedy\u00a0chops\u00a0and\u00a0a bigger\u00a0chin.\u00a0In the\u00a0central role,\u00a0Dakotta Hagaras Gordon\u00a0is cute-as-a-button\u00a0and\u00a0sings pleasingly but is a surprisingly neutral character, which\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0Mr. Hagar\u2019s\u00a0fault. The action of the show\u00a0is how\u00a0everyone around Gordon reacts\u00a0to him and his illness:\u00a0family members,\u00a0lover,\u00a0doctors, nurses and even Mr. Bungee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hoover-Leppen\u00a0Theatre\u2019s\u00a0deep, wide stage\u00a0gives\u00a0director\u00a0Espano\u00a0and choreographer Schlicht\u00a0advantages\u00a0they\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have at the old Pride Arts space on Broadway. The show moves fluidly across the stage and into the aisles on\u00a0Gael Owens\u2019\u00a0relatively\u00a0simple\u00a0set, which uses hospital curtains\u00a0that\u00a0surround a\u00a0patient\u2019s\u00a0bed to\u00a0good effect, especially as screens for\u00a0Connor Blackwood\u2019s\u00a0lovely\u00a0film projections.\u00a0Ms. Schlicht\u00a0uses uncomplicated but effective unison steps and shifting patterns of circles and lines to make her\u00a0ensemble of non-dancers look good.\u00a0Shawn Quinlan\u2019s\u00a0street\u00a0clothes\u00a0costume designs are\u00a0accented by whimsical flourishes such as\u00a0Mr. Bungee\u2019s colorful costume and make-up,\u00a0a superb patchwork coat for the homeless lady,\u00a0made out of\u00a0stuffed animals, and horse head hats for the chorus for one number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A New Brain\u00a0is a feel-good show as Gordo chooses life over death, which never really seems like an actual\u00a0threat.\u00a0Gordo may\u00a0think composing for Mr. Bungee is a dead-end job, yet\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0Mr. Bungee\u2019s song \u201cDon\u2019t Give In\u201d which turns\u00a0Gordo\u2019s\u00a0emotional tide.It\u2019s\u00a0very much\u00a0a feel-good production, too, and\u00a0a good way\u00a0to kick off the 2025-2026 theater season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0704.jpeg\")
Gordon (Dakotta Hagar) confronts his boss and nemesis, Mr. Bungee (Taylor Bailey) in William Finn\u2019s A New Brain at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre. (photo courtesy of Oomphotography)<\/p>\n