The London Theatre Review: West End’s The Time Traveler’s Wife

by Ross

As someone who has never read the book or seen any type of adaptation; film or small screen, I felt like a bit of a virgin walking into the theater. I couldn’t help but notice that the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End was filled to overflowing with fans who had a great knowledge of the storyline and a great love for the characters that live and breath inside The Time Traveler’s Wife, the new musical from the same producers as the musical adaptations of Ghost and Back to the Future. Expectations of those around me were higher than high, and although I wasn’t as excited as those others, my fellow theatre-goer and I were looking forward to the idea of being spellbound, hoping that the time-traveling synopsis would pull us in and take us on a wild ride journey filled with romance and sci-fi wonderment.

Now I can’t say that was exactly the case, but I won’t say it wasn’t achieved somewhat, in a way and on a few different quantum states. The musical spins around the love relationship between its two central characters; Henry and Clare, played strongly by two very gifted singers and actors, with the biggest hurdle in their relationship being the complicated fact that Henry, played convincingly by David Hunter (West End’s Once; Waitress), at a drop of the proverbial hat, has this pesky gene that can send him flying around the planes of time involuntarily, with barely any notice beyond some sound and light clues, courtesy of the fine work by sound designer Richard Brooker (Riverside Studios’ Saving Grace), illusions consultant Chris Fisher (Broadway’s Company), and lighting designers Rory Beaton (Almeida’s Lovely Ugly City) and Lucy Carter (West End’s 2:22 A Ghost Story). Take that, quantum theory.

Clare, portrayed strongly by a vocally gifted Joanna Woodward (Southwark’s The Life), has to hold on securely to the notation that he will find his way back to her, time and time again, albeit naked and hungry for something surgery. It’s a dynamic problematic situation filled with some awkward constructs; complications that feel minimized or ignored within the pseudo dense and complicated storytelling. Standing in the circle of knowledge are Clare’s two besties from school, Charisse, played charmingly by Hiba Elchikhe (West End’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie); and Gomez, played Elvis-like by a very funny Tim Mahendran (West End’s & Juliet), who over a more straightforward timeline get together and marry, while forever being there for their best friend who has, probably, the most complicated love affair that one could have.

The book by Lauren Gunderson (The Half-Life of Marie Curie) does its darn best trying to explain all of this, especially for us virgins in the crowd, but basically, as we fly headfirst into this sci-fi time-traveling paradigm, that is thankfully stacked tall with some strong rock and roll music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning Joss Stone (2001’s “The Soul Sessions“) and Dave Stewart (“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)“) of the Eurythmics, we have to just swallow our skepticism and drink the koolaid or we will forever be questioning all the details that make this a bit of a head-scratcher. The songs are generally powerful and super well sung by a cast that is as game as ever to try to serve this story up to us as solidly as they can, but even with the rock and roll pedigree of the music, the lyrics don’t serve the magic requirement to make this pill an easy swallow. Even with the mesmerizing vocal capacity of Woodward leading the charge.

The metaphoric symbolism is a bit mushy and forced, about waiting, wanting, trusting, and believing, leading us through the romance with a fluttering of wings. The shapes of birds fly all around us and into the paintings of Clare, attempting to elevate a theme that is underdeveloped. That symbol keeps returning, time and time again, of a bird in flight, but it never really sticks, beyond the most basic of ideas. Maybe it had a clearer connection in the book by Audrey Niffenegger (Her Fearful Symmetry) or in the New Line Cinema Film’s screenplay written by Bruce Joel Rubin (“Ghost“), but in this somewhat sloppily told rendition of this romantic tale, the connection was never really made well enough to solidify the representation. We are asked to have the same faith as Henry asks from Clare.

Hunter as Henry works hard trying to keep the heartstrings a-pulling, and together, the two leads hold this piece together. But it’s work. Ultimately it’s really Charisse and Gomez, their married couple friends that almost steal the show away from them, not because of any depth created, but because they are just so much fun to watch and take in. Those two seem to be having the time of their lives, while Clare and Henry roll around in conflict and despair.

There has been a great amount of discussion around the awkwardness of the scenes with the very young Clare out in the world and the recurring arrival of a naked adult man who befriends her knowing full well that they will be husband and wife later in her timeline and lifetime. The difficult word of ‘grooming’ comes into play, and although the concept is quite clear, the effect, as directed with an attempt to clarify by Bill Buckhurst (West End/Off-Broadway’s Sweeney Todd), never truly steps over the complicated boundary into creepy. With a strong assist from production designer and video illustrator Anna Fleischle (Broadway’s Hangmen) and choreographer Shelley Maxwell (West End’s Best of Enemies), The Time Traveller’s Wife pushes along, jumping forward and back through time, naturally, to find connection and compassion, unraveling a story painted in broad strokes around love and acceptance. I’m not sure it will stand the test of actual time, but there are a number of powerful songs by the writing team of Stones and Stewart, that sound great and stadium-sound. Ultimately though, most are somewhat forgettable lyric-wise, remaining simplistic as time marches forward in the real world.

The time jump sequences are well marked and masked by clever stage craftsmanship and add to the overall emotional effect. Especially that opening number for Act Two of The Time Traveller’s Wife – The Musical which plays strong both musically and visually, but it almost feels like a separate dimension, mainly there for show, rather than tell. It’s clever and sharply focused on its presentation, trying hard to pull us into the oncoming (mela)drama that keeps getting hinted at (in pretty broad strokes). I can’t say that I was captured, nor caught up in the romantic emotionality of the story, but that’s more inside the book and songs than any of those talented performers jumping through time hoops to make us care. They deserve all the love and applause they can get.