Another dark new tuner that demonstrates just how tough it is to create musical magic, even when the talent is there, the story is interesting, and a couple of songs catch the ear. John Guare's book shows real ingenuity at times (a build-up of sycophantic Sidney's behind-the-scenes machinations reaches a wonderful payoff in act one) but never clears up some crucial motivations or answers certain basic questions, such as what is J.J. Hunsecker's weird fixation on his sister really about, and why does protegee Sidney have no other career options?
Several scenes in act two are a mess (including a wildly inappropriate song for Sidney's girlfriend), though the plot eventually rights itself, making the evening worth a look, if not a line in J.J.'s "B-way X-ray."
