According to Howard

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The York Theatre’s third and last NEW2NY spring concert staging According to Howard is an interesting attempt to make a bio-musical out of the entire life of aviator-engineer billionaire Howard Hughes from age 12 to his death in 1976 at age 70. At times it seems to take its structure from Citizen Kane, at others from Hollywood musicals of the 1930s. However, among the problems with the show is that it depicted Hughes as an utterly humorless egotist who is very unlikeable. In trying to tell his entire life story, the show attempts to cover too many things so that most of the incidents are left hanging without a conclusion (for example his second marriage to actress Jean Peters is given exactly one sentence and his fight with Senator Brewster over TWA feels unresolved.)

Except for a couple of main characters, the people in his life seem to come and go making it a little bit difficult to follow. While the opening of each act is in the form of a Technicolor musical, the limited budget and the staged reading format does not allow for this. Actor Michael Halling is tall enough to represent the 6’4” Hughes but he does not portray his undoubted charisma to have taken the world by storm. There are also many anachronisms as well as at least one scene which is out of order and facts that are inaccurate.

The book by the late Frank Evans with revisions by director Jennifer Paulson-Lee and composer Jim Scully begins with Hughes’ life in 1917 when he was 12 years old. Soon after he loses both his mother and then his father. At 19 he finds himself with 75% of his father’s Hughes Tool Company to be run by his Uncle Rupert, but not satisfied with how the company was being operated he buys out his uncle. After setting Hughes Tool Company on the right track, he relocates to Hollywood where his interest in aviation leads him to produce the film Hell’s Angels, about World War I pilots, one of the most expensive and spectacular aerial films ever made. Unconvinced by one of the flying stunts, he attempts it himself leading to the first of four crashes he was involved in. Using his accountant and right hand man Noah Dietrich, he buys the failing TWA and gets into the aviation business for real.

His marriage to Texas socialite Ella Botts Rice ends in divorce as he is never home and she eventually grows tired of waiting for him. In Hollywood he is attracted to Katharine Hepburn who is fascinated by him but afraid of getting involved. She breaks off their relationship after his round the world flight when she realizes she will never have his full attention.

The second act picks up during World War II when Hughes has contracts with the War Department for new plane research which is late. His fear of germs becomes much worse and he begins throwing out many of his possessions. He marries actress Jean Peter (who we never meet), has another plane crash and goes into seclusion. The story picks up 26 years later when con artist Clifford Irving attempts to sell his unauthorized “autobiography” of Hughes which causes Hughes to come out of seclusion and give his first interview in years. Four years later, Hughes is dead at age 70.

The music by Scully is very melodic in a pleasing old fashioned way. However, the lyrics by Evans with additional lyrics by Chad Gorn vary tremendously from simple to complex, and are mainly driven by ballad stanzas in repeated refrains. Among the most successful songs are Ella’s plaintive “Christmas Together” when she finds out that Hughes will not be arriving until after Dec. 25 which is quite lovely. “Do It, Noah” is a very clever patter song summing up the strained relationship between Hughes and Dietrich. “Attracted to You”, the duet for Hughes and Hepburn, is attractive in a Cole Porter manner. As in a dream sequence, Ella long after their divorce gets to sing the lovely “What Did You Expect.” Hepburn sings the powerful “Til the Next Time?” when they meet again backstage at the Shubert Theatre where she is appearing in The Philadelphia Story.

Under Paulson-Lee’s direction, the cast generally give excellent performances but cannot overcome their brief appearances. As Hughes, Halling limited singing range means he has fewer songs than he ought to. As Ella, Christine DiGiallonardo is charming though we never learn anything about her. We feel David Elder’s pain as the put-upon Dietrich who Hughes takes for granted. While Gina Milo has the independence and the hauteur of Katharine Hepburn down cold, she doesn’t sound anything like the Bryn Mawr-bred actress. Haley Swindal is very amusing as fictional Hollywood gossip columnist Rita Randolph (think Hedda Hopper) who is used to relate events that are happening. As Hughes’ parents, Jill Paice and Eric Michael Gillett are fine but disappear much too soon.

The minimalist production design does include useful projections by Evan Frank to set some scenes but does not go far enough. The trio made up of music director Scott Cady on piano, Scott Thornton on bass and Ryan McBride on percussion does an excellent job on the lush score which obviously needs a fuller orchestration. According to Howard is interesting in concept but could use a great many changes before it is fully ready for its close up. However, it does seem to diminish an iconic character.

According to Howard (April 5 – 13, 2025)

The York Theatre

Theatre at St. Jean’s, 150 E. 76^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 212-935-5820 or visit http://www.yorktheatre.org/buy-tickets

Running time: two hours and 20 minutes including one intermission