Author: Joe

The next three musicals at NYMF deal with the tensions surrounding the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, Irish Americans who chose to fight in World War II and, on a lighter note, a parody of Spider-man.

’68 (Production)

The conceit for this show is intriguing.  A librarian wants to interview and record stories from people who were connected to the rioting that occurred in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic national convention.  Attending this musical with someone born nearly thirty years later is illuminating.  Unless you know this story well, ’68 will be an incoherent jumble of names and vignettes.    The lyrics had no depth and were simplistic:  “Most of the kids are peaceful/Most of them will play fair/We don’t want to shoot them/Just because they have long hair.”  On the bus, the conventioneers sway and sing a four word song, “Where Are You From?”  Make that five words.  Toward the end of this repeating one line chorus, the word “coming” is added as in “where are you coming from?”  The book uses absurd phrases like “they are threatening to use Molotov cocktails and nudity” but this is not a comedy.  The low point comes late in Act II when a Vietnamese woman slowly walks in behind the ensemble wearing an Asian conical hat.  The screen is projected with a yellow color.  (The category is… Miss Saigon realness.)  She begins singing “all the chickens in the hen house have a name, have a name.”  Why does a Mother Superior-like nun appear singing alongside?  Near the end of the show, “The Lucky Ones” was a storytelling character song which finally illuminated what this musical might have been.

An American Hero: A World War II Musical (Production)

Ireland was neutral during the second world war, choosing not to fight alongside Great Britain.  Those who did were blacklisted and their families became outcasts.  An American Hero is the story of first generation Irish American brothers who hear the call of duty and enlist.  This accomplished show takes us on a journey from the Bronx to the battlefields in France to the munitions factory floor in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  A project developed at Southeast Missouri State University, the book is by professor Kenneth L. Stilson with music and lyrics by Cody Cole, a recent graduate.  The score is filled with gems like the telegraph inspired “Waiting on the Mailman.”  The ensemble was large and used well.  All of the battle scenes were superbly staged, not an easy feat.  As the brothers at the center of this story, Adam Schween and José Alpizar beautifully portray these characters and finely perform rich emotional songs.  Both deliver two of the best performances at this festival.  The sweeping score feels appropriate to the time period and nicely moves the story forward.  A note to make this very strong show even better would be to further develop the female characters, including the ensemble.  The idea works but doesn’t yet feel as organically real as the men.  Much of this cast has traveled to NYMF from the university.  Their youth, particularly in the gut wrenching war scenes, hits us hard as it should.  So many men who lost their lives protecting our freedoms were so very young.  Three of us attended An American Hero, fought back tears and were unanimous in our praise.  Congratulations to this cast and creative team for an exceptionally fine piece of theater.

Peter, Who? (Production)

When parodies are done well, they can be extraordinarily fun shows to watch.  They can also be very successful such as off-Broadway’s current Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.  Peter, Who? is a silly, funny, entertaining take on Spider-man.  The show is a welcome addition to NYMF by a creative team defying gravity and having fun with the musical comedy form.  The jokes are plentiful.  The school stud Flash (who doesn’t even see Peter Parker as a person) drinks green tea “but not a lot, just enough to say I drink it.”  At the Daily Bugle newsroom, Betty informs us that “I’m like a Honda Civic.  Turn me on once and I’m good for a year.”  My favorite line: “a narrow mind gets fewer headaches.”  The set design has clever hand held comic book cut outs.  When our hero is swinging between buildings, it is far more entertaining than in the movies.  Songs are tuneful and hilarious, as they need to be.  The entire cast seems to be having a ball and, as a result, so does the audience.  Peter, Who? is not yet at the highest level of zaniness on display at Puffs.  All the necessary ingredients are in evidence.  Inserting a few more great jokes and this piece could make people smile from ear to ear from start to finish.

www.nymf.org

www.theaterreviewsfrommyseat/puffs

Opening on Broadway in 1982, Pump Boys and Dinettes was a well-received country-styled musical revue.  The boys from the gas station on Highway 57 (the pump boys) and the girls from the Double Cupp Diner across the street (the dinettes) put on an old-fashioned entertainment for their customers.  Five of the six surviving cast members reunited for a two show concert at 54 Below, Broadway’s supper club.  Never having seen this Tony Award Best Musical nominee (lost to Nine), I decided to check out this sold-out reunion.

The diner is located somewhere near Smyrna, North Carolina.  The actor-musicians perform the songs on guitar, bass, piano and kitchen utensils.  The whisk on cheese grater was particularly genius.  The tunes are country pop/rock and they were very good.  “T.N.D.P.W.A.M.” was a terrific storytelling song about “The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine.”  The ladies’ lament “Tips” and “Farmer Tan” were also memorable standouts for me.

The original cast wrote all of these songs and it was a treat to see them and their adoring audience (many theater professionals) celebrating this musical 36 years later.  Curious to see a show that you may have missed?  Enjoy intimate supper clubs with great sound that serve delicious food and cocktails?  Yes?  Combine those passions and check out a reunion at 54 Below.  This is my third one (Side Show and The Drowsy Chaperone were the others).  The verdict on Pump Boys and Dinettes?  Of the original, Time magazine said the show “tickles the funny bone.”  Newsweek said the songs were “cheery, relaxed and amiable.”  I agree.

www.54below.com

The New York Musical Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this summer.  NYMF “nurtures the creation, production and public presentation of stylistically, thematically and diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater.”  This year’s offerings include 12 full productions (usually five performances each with sets and costumes) and 9 readings (full casts with scripts).  This group of three new shows journey through a magic storybook, consider life as a transgendered person during the Civil War and take us through the tumultuous 1960’s and the Vietnam War.

What’s Your Wish? (Production)

Nicholas is sixteen years old and did not get a car for his birthday so he pouts and goes to the attic.  His best friend Brian joins him there and they open a book called “To Grant Wishes.”  Along with Corley Pillsbury, Kyle Acheson (Nicholas) and Sam De Roest (Brian) wrote the music and lyrics for this truly enjoyable musical.  Playing our leads, the roles suit them nicely and we are off on a kooky, young audience friendly journey spiked with edgier adult flair.  In the song “Up There” the line “admittedly I’m a bit depressed” is rhymed with “my situation’s kind of Kafkaesque.”  The boys’ journey involves being sucked into the book where there is a Death Forest, an evil Enchantress who drinks unicorn tears, a wingless fairy and a rat.  A virgin sacrifice is needed to solve the magical energy crisis.  The book is credited to Thicket & Thistle, a troupe of actor-musicians.  The result is a delightful blend of simple plotting, creative lighting, nice tunes, witty dialogue and endlessly inventive staging.  What’s Your Wish? has a message:  life doesn’t go according to plan, so plan accordingly!  What’s Your Wish? also has a superlative performance by Joshua Stenseth in a handful of featured roles including Old Vern (the rat), mom’s boyfriend Donald plus assorted noise making characters and hilarious onstage hijinks.  It’s impossible not to wish a great future for this show; there is so much goodwill, good cheer and high entertainment value from this spirited group of artists.

The Civility of Albert Cashier (Reading)

Albert is a Civil War hero for the north.  He enlisted despite being female at birth but clearly identifies as a man.  The Civility of Albert Cashier is a nicely performed musical which improbably combines the transgendered experience with a brutal war.  There are two Alberts on display.  The young one looks like a bugle boy and not a soldier but manages to fool everyone and join the army.  The elderly Albert is under medical care and still fiercely secretive about his true identity.  The book is all over the map.  One of the soldiers is confusingly attracted to Albert (telegraphed too early).  An angry nurse confronts inequality and women’s rights.  A medical attendant is called a nancy and sings a song to Albert about going to Chicago where their type can kick up their heels.  Back and forth in time we travel.  Death and prejudices are faced head on.  By the time the older Albert faces his demons, the story has careened into a trans manifesto intervention.  Thankfully, the music and rhythms of this piece are very strong.  An admirable effort to give a non-traditional view of the trans experience, The Civility of Albert Cashier preached its messages a bit too bluntly for my taste.

Victory Train (Reading)

NYMF now takes me from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.  A group of drafted young men have avoided going overseas since they are part of The Soldier Show which functions as a patriotic recruiting vehicle.  While they sing “ride the victory train,” protestors in the background shout “Hey, hey L.B.J., how many kids did you kill today?”  The spine of this new musical is the relationship between Soldier Rick, the group’s leader, and war protestor Julie who works in a coffeeshop.  Their brief love affair reconnects years later as the older versions of Rick and Julie also feature prominently in this time shifting tale.  The book and score have been written by David Buskin and Jake Holmes.  There are some good songs in this show but the frequent shifts in tone are troublesome.  Victory Train is part melodrama and part musical comedy.  The seriousness of war and killing sits uncomfortably alongside much lighter fare.  “Bad Girls” lets us know that a man can “fire at will, ‘cuz I got the pill.  You know your ammunition won’t change my condition.”  There is also the obligatory gay storyline and a look into America’s racism, both of which are reasonably handled.  All the sidetracking (and wisecracking) doesn’t support the main dramatic arc, however.  The Vietnam War and the tumultuous 1960’s packaged as a musical variety show and romantic melodrama with comedic diversions is not an easy project to tackle, or swallow.

www.nymf.org

In fifteen years, NYMF has presented 447 musicals.  106 of them have gone on to further productions in 50 states and 27 countries.  These three offerings range from a small, intimate fantasy tale to a story of Alzheimer’s impact on a family to the lives of the emojis that live in your telephone.

Held: A Musical Fantasy (Reading)

Three people are trapped for sixty days in the prison of the Blood Wizard when Held begins.  They cannot find any way out.  Their bodies remain healthy despite not eating and not being hungry.  In this darkness and in this situation, the opening song creates an effective sense of moodiness and mystery.  This intimate three character drama proceeds to fill in the blanks.  Why are they trapped?   How do these three know each other?  One is the Dreamer with magical conjuring skills and the other two are Non-Dreamers.  Like many fantasy stories, war is looming in the background.  Held considers one’s genetic makeup and the generations that came before as predictors for life’s choices.   While the book has some odd transitions, there is dialogue to savor:  “inside the tent smells like sawdust and fresh bread.”  The threesome’s group dynamic and growth is clear and logical, as is the story arc.  Written by Kelly Maxwell and Meghan Rose, this musical may need a few more songs to allow the audience to get further inside each character’s head individually.  I wanted to know more backstory.  Held feels like a slice of a larger epic which makes this small scale piece especially effective (notably for fans of fantasy).

If Sand Were Stone (Production)

Near the end of If Sand Were Stone, there is an intimate moment between a husband and his wife, Billie.  She has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for years and the disease has taken its toll.  This musical finally stops for a second to let a real emotional moment happen.  It is far too late.  We’ve already had to endure the Spirits, four doppelgangers (?) who dance, move chairs around and add nothing except distraction to the stage.  They do occasionally spout fun facts about Alzheimer’s, often smiling when doing so.  At one point, Billie and her assistant sing If It Was A Dream facing the dancers not the audience.  Who is this story being told to?  The show was written by Carly Brooke Feinman and Cassie Willson.  I had trouble deciding about the songs, they often seemed discordant.  Admittedly, my appreciation might be affected by the staging.  How far has Billie’s memory loss deteriorated?  She keeps watering plants not remembering how often.  This is performed in an interminable scene where the Spirits dance with watering cans between four houseplants, back and forth.  At one point, a movie is turned on for Billie to keep her occupied.  A film starring the Three Stooges is projected on the screen for far too long.  Not a great idea since that’s what I was watching.  I can’t say whether If Sand Were Stone is fixable but killing the Spirits and letting the characters tell this story might be a fairly obvious start.

Emojiland (Production)

What really happens inside your telephone when a system update is about to occur to emojis?  That is the conflict successfully explored and hilariously exploited by Keith and Laura Nicole Harrison in their textistential new musical, Emojiland.  Princess (Lesli Margherita, always funny) currently rules the world inside your phone and we quickly learn that “Princess Is A Bitch.”  Many emoji favorites are characters here including Sunny, Skull, Smize (smiling face and smiling eyes) and Pile of Poo.  While it may seem obvious that characters like Weary and Worry have negative emotions, there is tension even inside the sunniest pals.  Skull, for example, sings “Cross My Bones and hope to die.”  When the update happens, one of the new emojis is Nerd Face, the catalyst for the plot.  The score is catchy and delicious Broadway pop, with a number of songs reaching classic character song greatness.  Angela Wildflower sings the exquisite “A Thousand More Words” beautifully (with welcome hints of the great Stephanie Mills).  Musical theater songwriters to put on your radar, the Harrison’s have written Nerd Guy and Smize for themselves.  Both are perfectly cast.  Emojiland is ready for prime time and I expect the built in fanbase to be large.  One plea:  can we add dancing lady in red dress emoji?  Please?

www.nymf.org