Too Close to the Sun
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Too Close to the Sun: A West End Theatrical Flop
"Too Close to the Sun" premiered in London’s West End at the Comedy Theatre on July 16, 2009, with its official opening on July 24, only to shutter on August 8 after just 23 performances. Conceived by John Robinson a Boeing engineer turned composer with a book by Roberto Trippini and lyrics by both, this musical was directed by Pat Garrett and produced by GBM Productions Ltd. A fictional take on Ernest Hemingway’s final days, it starred James Graeme as the literary titan in its sole West End outing. Following Robinson’s earlier failure, "Behind the Iron Mask," it crumbled under scathing reviews, a mid-preview lead exit, and a £500,000 loss, earning infamy as one of the decade’s briefest West End runs.
A Fictional Hemingway Unraveled
Set in 1961 Ketchum, Idaho, the plot imagines Ernest Hemingway, aging and creatively stalled, retreating with fourth wife Mary. Enter Louella, his ambitious secretary, who seduces him, plotting to become wife number five and claim his fortune. Mary, desperate to keep him, overlooks the affair, while Rex, Hemingway’s old pal, arrives to snag film rights to his life story, sparking a web of deceit. Louella’s bribery and Rex’s betrayal push Hemingway to despair, ending with his suicide by shotgun a grim climax critics dubbed “tasteless.” This speculative drama, loosely inspired by Hemingway’s real end, aimed for pathos but landed as a “ludicrous melodrama” with no redemptive arc.
A Score That Fell Flat
John Robinson’s music, co-lyricized with Trippini, churned out 24 songs like “This Is the Way It Has to Be” and “Too Close to the Sun,” orchestrated by Conor Mitchell and conducted by Tom Deering. Intended to echo Hemingway’s rugged spirit, the score instead drew jeers for its “banal” melodies and “clunky” lyrics (The Guardian). Numbers like “Sentimental Small-Towner” clogged the pace, and no cast recording emerged to salvage it. Critics Michael Coveney called it “musically negligible” saw it as a mismatch of ambition and execution, a stark contrast to Robinson’s technical precision in aerospace, sinking the show’s hopes of soaring.
A Cast Eclipsed by Chaos
James Graeme anchored the production as Hemingway, his “credible” baritone (Variety) lost in a “dire script,” with Helen Dallimore as a stoic Mary and Tammy Joelle as a scheming Louella. Jay Benedict, cast as Rex, quit during previews citing a knee injury replaced by understudy Christopher Howell amid rumors of creative clashes. Garrett’s direction faltered on Christopher Woods’ lavish sets, which couldn’t mask the “amateurish” feel (Daily Mail). The cast soldiered through, but their talents Dallimore’s warmth, Joelle’s pluck were “wasted” (The Times) in a production that imploded under its own weight, leaving them stranded in a theatrical misfire.
A West End Cautionary Tale
Evolving from Ron Read’s play, "Too Close to the Sun" followed Robinson’s £1 million "Iron Mask" flop into a £500,000 West End gamble, aiming for an eight-week run but crashing after three. Critics savaged it “a fiasco” (The Independent) and its closure, days after opening night boos, echoed disasters like "Oscar Wilde" (2000, nine performances). No tours or revivals followed; its legacy is a lesson in overreach, with Robinson’s aerospace millions no match for theatre’s demands. As of March 2025, it’s a West End footnote a “turgid” relic (Telegraph) of ambition gone awry, remembered more for its fall than its flight.