This past summer I lived in Soho, NYC and experienced everything possible in theater. From seeing Hamilton in the Richard Rogers Theatre on Broadway to watching an original play put on by a boy scout troop in the basement of a church, I can say with almost certainty that I have seen much of what New York City theater has to offer. Throughout this series I will give you my completely honest review of every show I saw this summer. First show: Floyd Collins. 

Floyd Collins is a cult-classic musical written by Adam Guettel and Tina Landau, based on the true story of a Kentucky cave explorer who became trapped underground in 1925. His rescue attempt turned into one of the first major American media sensations, drawing thousands of spectators and reporters to the site. The show blends Bluegrass, folk, and experimental musical theater to tell a dark but emotionally powerful story. The musical originally premiered Off-Broadway in 1996, and this summer’s production at Lincoln Center marked its long-awaited return to a Broadway stage.

As soon as I got to New York I knew this was something I had to see. On my second day in the city I rode the subway up to the TKTS booth in Times Square and bought a ticket to go see Floyd Collins at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center that same day. Right when I walked in, the sheer size of the over one thousand seat theater truly put into perspective what I was about to see. Within the first ten minutes of the show I was sitting mouth agape as I listened to the 8th wonder of the world that is the singing voice of Jeremy Jordan. Jordan played the titular character of Floyd Collins, the hopeful adventurer wanting to make it big by discovering a new cave. I may be a slightly biased reporter here due to my prior obsession with Jeremy Jordan during his Newsies days, but I can assure you that his performance was truly life changing. However, in my humble opinion, the lighting and the set design truly acted as the dark horse of this production. Starting out in the pitch black as Jordan climbs up and down structures invisible to the audience going deeper and deeper into the caves with only a spotlight to light him and an oil lamp to show the way, the viewers truly feel as though they are climbing down with him. The audience joins Jordan in his triumph, excitement, and eventual despair as he finds himself trapped in the cave he was so determined to find. It is then that we meet the other three standout characters Floyd’s sister Nellie Collins (Lizzie McAlpine), his brother Homer Collins (Jason Gotay), and a reporter on Floyd’s story called Skeets Miller (Taylor Trensch). Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to see Lizzie McAlpine as Nellie because she was out for my show, but, fortunately, I got to see the incredible Kristen Hahn completely knock it out of the park in the role instead. This truly speaks to the importance of swings and understudies in theater because without them a show could not run. However, the people who truly stole the show for me were Gotay and Trensch. Gotay’s performance of Homer Collins’ determination to save his brother combined with the heartbreak and temptations supplied by the publicity their family was receiving was the darker core at the center of this show. We, as the viewers, feel both Floyd’s heartbreak as we witness him slowly lose his sense of reality and disgust in ourselves as the audience for immortalizing the spectacularization of Floyd’s situation just like the reporters and onlookers of this time. This was perpetuated by Trensch’s Skeets Miller who, depending on the moment, acted as the narrator, comic relief, or savior, showing the well-roundedness of his character. Skeets entered as an easily dismissible local reporter and ended as a tragic character who is burdened with Floyd’s suffering as he is the only person small enough to reach where he is stuck in the cave. Throughout the show the audience is welcomed to laugh, cry, gasp, and overall just let go of the real world to replace those worries with fears about a man who died in a cave in 1925. It is safe to say that very few musicals have ever been able to do that. 

However, this show is not without its faults. Although the show itself is enjoyable, I would not say there is a single song I would necessarily choose to listen to on its own. They all fit well within the context of the show, but do not create a great listening experience without beautiful sets and acting to support them. If you are prone to claustrophobia I would not recommend this show because the audience spends a lot of time “stuck in the cave” with Floyd. My own father, who accompanied me to see this show, had to leave the theater on multiple occasions in order to overcome his claustrophobia. Additionally, the sheer size of the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center can provide a difficult viewing experience for some. If you find yourself on the highest mezzanine, it might feel like you are watching the show on your television in the next room over instead of feeling like you are right in it, like in many other Broadway theaters. 

All in all, it was an incredible show that I would recommend to almost anyone (save for the claustrophobic theater viewers). Unfortunately, Floyd Collins has now ended its run this season, but be sure to keep a lookout if our favorite entangled spelunker makes its return to the Broadway stage.

Floyd Collins: 3.5/5 Cave Lamps