Michael Strassen, king of the micro-musical, has previously compacted ‘Assassins’ and ‘Company’ for the Union’s tiny stage. Even he can’t get a rise out of this doughy adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s 1938 film about a cuckolded old baker.
After the baker’s pretty young wife absconds with the local alpha male, the breadless townsfolk have no shortage of old beef. But differences must be put aside for the sake of a communal problem.
With Joseph Stein’s book adding no flesh to its central archetypes, ‘The Baker’s Wife’ is as formulaic as it is naïve. The best of Stephen Schwartz’s songs are ticklish and catchy, but they can’t outweigh the banal simplicity of the surrounding story.
Strassen’s production is spirited, but treats the musical with undue respect and too much sepia rustic charm. A little subversive cynicism might have offered some extra spark.
Nonetheless, the leads are cracking. Michael Matus is endearing as the baker, doing sozzled with particular relish, while Lisa Stokke is delicately torn as his wife. Ricky Butt, not seen onstage for more than a decade, also makes a storming return as the town’s hearty landlady.