Ariana DeBose Leads a Sterling Company in a New Off-Broadway Production of ‘The Baker’s Wife’

It’s shaping up to be a busy month for Stephen Schwartz. The long-celebrated composer and lyricist’s first new musical to arrive on Broadway in more than 20 years, “The Queen of Versailles,” opened just days ago; on November 21, “Wicked: For Good,” the second in a two-part film adaptation of that phenomenon, makes its premiere in cinemas across the country.It’s unlikely that a marvelous new off-Broadway production of a musical that Mr. Schwartz originally unveiled nearly five decades ago, “The Baker’s Wife,” will get quite as much attention, though it’s certainly deserving. Based on a 1938 film that a noted French director and writer, Marcel Pagnol, adapted from a novel by Jean Giono, “Baker’s Wife” was first produced at a time when Mr. Schwartz had a pair of hit musicals, “Pippin” and “The Magic Show,” running on Broadway. The then-fledgling show featured a book by Joseph Stein, whose many Broadway credits to that point included “Fiddler on the Roof,” and a young Patti LuPone as its leading lady. “Baker’s Wife” also boasted a sumptuous score, which eventually drew the attention of a noted British director, Trevor Nunn, who in 1989 staged an expanded but short-lived production across the pond.For years, it seemed that “Baker’s Wife,” which has still never been produced on Broadway, was destined to remain a cult classic. Then, two decades ago, Mr. Schwartz and Stein teamed with a rising director, Gordon Greenberg, on a more streamlined version that earned strong reviews during its run at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse.Mr. Greenberg is also helming the even more intimate and luminous revival now on tap at Classic Stage Company, and he has compiled as sterling a company as any you’ll likely see on or off Broadway this season. It’s led by Ariana DeBose, returning to the New York stage for the first time since winning a Tony Award nomination for “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” — and an Oscar for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story” — and another stage and screen veteran, Scott Bakula, who has been duly admired for decades.Ms. DeBose is cast as Geneviève, a beautiful young woman newly married to a considerably older man, Aimable Castagnet, the baker. The show opens as the couple are about to arrive in a small, provincial town, where the citizens have been desolate since the man who previously provided them with bread and pastries died in a drunken accident.Ariana DeBose and Scott Bakula in ‘The Baker’s Wife.’ Matthew Murphy and Evan ZimmermanAimable fulfills their hungriest dreams; one local declares his baguette “a work of art.” But Geneviève, the new baker’s own greatest treasure, finds temptation elsewhere, in a handsome young man named Dominique who keeps turning up at the boulangerie, undeterred by her insistence that she’s not on the menu.While Ms. DeBose has brought plenty of sparkle to previous roles, not to mention her stints as Tony Awards host, I have never seen her project more warmth, or as much sweetness, as she does here. Her Geneviève, who is also haunted by a past relationship, is bound to Aimable not just by a longing for security but by a kind, gentle soul, and she shares with him a romantic spirit and a sense of wonder — both made abundantly clear in the performer’s radiant reading of “Meadowlark,” one of Mr. Schwartz’s most soaring, moving showstoppers.That’s not to say this heroine is a pushover: Ms. DeBose brings predictable grit and wit to the part as she Geneviève initially fends off Dominique’s advances — relayed with the appropriate youthful arrogance by a strapping Kevin William Paul — and, later, reconsiders her attraction in “Where is the Warmth,” a wistful, piquant ballad that’s another of the score’s numerous gems. Mr. Bakula, who still cuts a striking, masculine figure himself, makes Aimable a worthy foil to Dominique, conveying how this humble baker is a more suitable partner for Geneviève in his strength of character and his sheer goodness. And this production emphasizes, to hilarious and heartwarming effect, how that goodness pervades and eventually transforms a fractious, if tight-knit, community.Many of the townspeople are played by duly cherished stage veterans. Judy Kuhn offers wry wisdom and, as always, sings beautifully as Denise, long-suffering wife to the café owner, Claude, whose crankiness fades slowly in Robert Cuccioli’s nuanced performance. Nathan Lee Graham and Will Roland clash comically as, respectively, a lascivious marquis and a fretting priest, with a droll Arnie Burton engaging them both as a pedantic teacher.Sally Murphy lends poignance as the shier Hortense, who is bullied by her husband but finds herself fascinated and emboldened by Geneviève’s presence and example. Even Alma Cuervo’s stern, stuffy Therese, as intractable as Hortense is demure, has by the end been swayed a bit by the rush of enchantment that sweeps through the town.Jason Sherwood’s cozy, charming scenic design reinforces this infectious esprit de romance, and I’m sure it could easily be adapted to a larger venue on Broadway. But I wouldn’t wait to see if Ms. DeBose’s schedule allows for such a transfer; catch this little marvel while you can.

Ariana DeBose Leads a Sterling Company in a New Off-Broadway Production of ‘The Baker’s Wife’

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