Empire: The Musical – More than a Story of Building

Sep 5, 2024 by

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

Rising above New York City as the tallest building in the world, a signal of resilience right after the stock market crash – when things were going down, the Empire State Building was going up.  “Empire: The Musical,” at New World Stages through September 22nd tells a personal story about the construction of one of the most recognizable symbols of New York City, the Empire State Building.

The Plot

The story begins in 1976, Sylvie Lee (Jessica Ranville) is packing up her mother’s house while her daughter Rayne (Kiana Kabeary) is sorting through items that Sylvie is prepared to throw away, Sylvie is frustrated by her daughter’s desire to become an ironworker, expresses interest in learning her family story.

Then the show takes an unexpected turn, going back to New York in the Roaring 20s, where Sylvie meets Frances Belle “Wally” Wolodsky (Kaitlyn Davidson). Wally is a powerhouse using chutzpah, people skills, and a Brooklyn accent to accomplish the impossible … then she lets the men take credit. These men include Al Smith (Paul Salvatoriello), former Governor of New York, and presidential candidate in 1928, and John J. Raskob financial executive and businessman for DuPont and General Motors.

While the men are bragging about having moxie, Wally is making everything happen – managing the press, ordering the building materials, and keeping the construction on schedule. Under her direction, the Empire State Building was completed within fourteen months during the financial crisis. Wally epitomizes the strong woman behind every successful man.

Many Sub-Plots

While building the world’s tallest skyscraper provided context for Empire: The Musical, it was just one of many sub-plots the show explored. There were multiple love stories, two of which were central to the story Wally and Charles Kinney (Albert Guerzon), the architect who designed the building. Sylvie’s father, Joe Pakulski (Devin Cortez) met and fell in love with Rudy Shaw, a Mohawk who disguised herself as a man to get work on the high beams and shared a dream of building castles in the air.

The creative team of Caroline Sherman and Robert Hull, co-writers and lyrists, introduce and address social issues including bias against immigrants, the attitude of the wealthy, the impact of the great depression, politics, and women’s rights.

Our Reaction – Confusion

Empire: The Musical attempts to tackle too much, and do so in a classical musical theater format. The show contained 23 songs and many amazing dance numbers. We felt that the exceptionally talented cast gave the performance their all, and executed flawlessly.

Unfortunately, the plot was loosely tied together around the construction of the Empire State Building. Taken individually these storylines were intriguing, but in combination, it was like watching a three-ring circus, with so many ideas competing for attention, none of which received the attention they deserved.

At the end of Act One, we were unclear about who Sylvie’s parents were, or how Wally fit in. These questions were answered in Act Two, but then they introduced the Mohawk Grandmother (April Ortiz). Empire: The Musical features the Mohawk nation, renowned for their sky-walking abilities, with a fluid concept of the transition between life and death, believing that nothing in nature truly ends, it just changes form. Which left us questioning whether Sylvie’s mother was a spirit.

Light Entertainment with a NYC Flare

Empire: The Musical provides light entertainment, with a New York City theme building castles in the sky. Watching the ironworkers taking risks, pushing their limits, and overcoming their fears was inspiring, and exciting. They were living life to the fullest, proud to be making history, just as Wally pushed to make the impossible possible. We believe that Empire: The Musical has potential, with a little revision, and a tighter script we hope to see its return.

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

“Empire: The Musical” received 3 Challahs

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 30 minutes, including an intermission.

Three Challah Rating

Three Challahs

Related Posts

Tags

Share This