Compton & Clark Count Our Minutes & Moons, Magnificently

by David Moore

What if you knew exactly how many summers you had left?

Benjamin Button grows younger every year. Born an old man in a Cornish fishing village in 1918, Benjamin’s backwards life turns into a meditation on time, love, and belonging. In Jethro Compton and Darren Clark’s energetic musical, adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, we are reminded how precious is our limited time.

The exquisite cast are forever counting so many moons, so many minutes, so many summers. In an age of longevity supplements and anti-aging clinics, our own endings remain a mystery. Benjamin’s is certain.

As Benjamin, Andrew Durand has the hardest job onstage: moving backwards in time. He first appears stooped, in a green three-piece suit and bowler hat. Over the course of the evening, he sheds layers along with years—until he stands upright in shirtsleeves. A miracle of physical theater and wardrobe!

Benjamin’s body runs in reverse, but his heart moves forward. Trapped in an old man’s body, he suffers teenage shyness around women. He falls for Elowen Keene (radiant Kelsee Kimmel), the barmaid at the Salty Maid, and starts a family. Benjamin is an everyman who simply ages the wrong way—and we see ourselves in him.

An outcast from birth, his arrival brings shame to his family and tragedy to his mother. He spends his first years hidden in an attic. What follows is a search for belonging: a friendship with Little Jack (exuberant Morgan Morse) aboard a fishing boat, a seat at the pub, and finally a home of his own.

Strikingly, no one here chases money. They value love, friendship, and acceptance.

In one memorable scene, Benjamin uses makeup—not to look younger, but older. The story cleverly reverses the hair dye and wrinkle creams we know so well. Whichever way time runs, we always seek to hide the signs of aging.

Benjamin finally finds belonging with his family. In a midlife crisis, he frantically seeks a cure for being himself.

By the second act, the audience was sobbing, and I was among them. As the son of immigrants in New York, I have rarely felt that I belonged. Now, as the father of three young sons, I too often must leave them for work. I feel his dilemma in my bones.

A single set design conjures a harbor town of docks and nets—complete with a pub called the Pickled Crab. Anna Kelsey’s wool sweaters and denim overalls evoke a working-class waterfront town. The Cornish accents, which this reviewer first mistook for Irish, soften as the evening progresses.

The ensemble of actor-musicians is terrific, alternating violins, accordions, guitars, and drums with boundless energy. The songs are upbeat and pleasant, if not especially memorable. Their lyrical warmth makes the losses of the second act hit even harder.

With its crowd-pleasing Broadway style, “Benjamin Button” seems bound for a bigger stage. Spend a little of your own time with our hero at The Public. Bring tissues.

 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button—A Musical” —book & lyrics by Jethro Compton, music & lyrics by Darren Clark, based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, directed by Jethro Compton, choreography by Chi-San Howard, scenic design by Jethro Compton, costumes by Anna Kelsey, lighting by Zoe Spurr, and sound by Luke Swaffield for Autograph Sound, at The Public Theater, New York.

Info: publictheater.org – to December 20, 2026.

Cast: Jo Brook, Britney Coleman, Trevor Lindley Craft, Andrew Durand, Brandon J. Ellis, Katie Horner, Kelsee Kimmel, Casey Martin Klein, Sachiko Mae, Morgan Morse, Kris Saint-Louis, Claire-Frances Sullivan, Lauren Jeanne Thomas, Spiff Wiegand, and Matt Wolpe.

Banner photo: Andrew Durand & the Company. Photo by Joan Marcus.