Review of ‘White Rose’: “A resistance group musical builds an unarmed narrative”

The Marylebone Theatre hosts the London premiere of the period Off-Broadway musical, exploring the real-life story of the fierce peaceful fight against Hitler’s regime. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if the piece’s inflorescence should be nipped in the bud.

It was 1972 when, during the last years of Franco’s dictatorship, Spain was captivated by a new song by the budding (and prematurely lost) singer Nino Bravo. Titled Libre (meaning “free”), the lyrics depicted a young 20-year-old aiming for a future blessed with promise and hope. Every line was filled with piercing poetry: “the wire fence is a piece of metal that can’t withhold his wish to fly” and “on his chest crimson flowers sprouted non-stop”. An earworm that has endured through every generation since its inception, but which very few people realized what it actually referred to: an agonizing man who was fatally shot while trying to cross the Berlin wall…

“Even words can get you in trouble”, cries one of the characters in Brian Belding’s historical musical – landing on the London Off scene after a first original run across the Atlantic. It has every necessary ingredient for a successful musical: a poignant premise, insightful personages, and countless opportunities to explore universal themes through a setting that resonates with today’s audiences now more than ever. Sadly, though, its whole potential is left untouched. And, unlike that haunting Spanish melody, the picture it paints before our eyes is far from making it into our hearts.

White Rose tells the story of a peaceful resistance group opposing Hitler’s regime through anonymous propaganda. Previous musicals have dealt with similar issues and proved themselves triumphant in that endeavour. The subject is obviously not the problem. The way is handled, however, is a different thing.

It’s hard to spot any elements that fully work in this piece. We can, of course, admire the intention, but we can’t really appreciate the approach. Many of its decisions are, in fact, incorrect. Structurally flawed in terms of action and repertoire, the musical numbers lack sufficient narrative strength to keep the plot and its characters in motion. Everything looks incredibly stagnated – with too many songs feeling exceedingly expositional, and struggling to justify those interruptions by not providing the roles with enough evolution through them.

Consequently, our interest in the plot continues to lower quite significantly – to the point that, no matter how terribly tragic its ending might be (and trust me when I’m telling you it can’t get any more tragic), we can’t experience any emotions whatsoever towards what we’re seeing.

Brice’s lyrics at least understand prosody and rhyme (though the latter taking next to no risks), but they ignore subtext almost entirely – there’s basically no insightfulness streaming through them, and their attention to subtlety is quite minimal. Composer Natalie Brice makes a good effort at crafting pleasant motifs, but its overly contemporary rock style feels out of place for a show set in the late 30s and early 40s. Yes, there are tons of examples of acclaimed period musicals without a historically accurate score, but all of them flaunt the flavour of the time in some way or another. Here, instead of a blossoming new Evita, White Rose stems from a genre closer to Spring Awakening.

There’s not much that the production itself manages to save, most unfortunately. Though visually enticing, the staging lacks the dynamism and versatility this kind of tale requires. On the other hand, the performances are absent of chemistry and stamina – several of which also presenting serious errors in pitch and, overall, regarding their singing skills. An exception is made, nonetheless, by Tobias Turley and Collette Guitart as Hans and Sophie Scholl – flaunting the most robust vocals in the company, while adding a layer of flair into their interpretations.

Every great musical starts with a great story. But even the greatest story has nothing to do if not given the appropriate tools to exploit its possibilities. White Rose parts from the right idea, but takes a completely wrong turn when making its dramatic choices – unable to deliver anything as remotely brave and inspiring as the people it so laudably pays homage to. Clearly, in need of a full makeover, its basis still sews the seeds for an exciting new piece of theatre. But instead of a more flowery outcome, this version has been endowed with too many thorns.

White Rose plays at London’s Marylebone Theatre until 13 April. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara