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| Yes, I'm the weirdo in
the audience at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis Studio Theatre
production who has all of the cast albums of the shows mentioned during one of
the numbers in the clever and witty musical, [title of show].
Co-created by a Webster alum and a guy we all remember fondly from many St.
Louis stages, Hunter Bell, this show probably has a limited appeal
because of its very theatre-centered story. But it's one that has enough laughs
and great music that it should be seen by a wider audience. Bell, along with Jeff Bowen created [title of show], complete with brackets around the lower case title as a joke because they didn't have a name for the show- or even a show for that matter- when they decided to enter something in a New York theatre festival. So when the form had a line with those words beneath it to insert the title, that's what they picked. So as the 90-minute, no intermission musical unfolds on stage, we are basically watching them create a show, a la Seinfeld, out of nothing but the two creating the show. In the Rep Studio production, the versatile Ben Nordstrom plays Hunter and Benjamin Howes takes on the role of Jeff. Joining them are Amy Justman as friend Heidi and Stephanie D'Abruzzo as friend Susan. These four move in and out of musical numbers, script and real life with about as much verve and panache as humanly possible. Musical director David Horstman also appears on stage throughout with his electric piano and even interacts non-musically on occasion. The direction and choreography of Rep veteran Victoria Bussert moves this zany madness at the proper pace and makes it a wonder for all fans of musical theatre. You won't find musical numbers rhyming "June" and "moon" as most of the lyrics are simply dialogue set to music. But the results are entertaining indeed. As they say musically late in the show, they'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than one hundred people's ninth favorite thing. And I believe they've accomplished that. For huge fans of theatre, it's a show not to be missed. For the occasional theatre-goer, it just may entice you to go more often. And yes, I do have the original cast album of [title of show]. It plays at the Studio through January 31st. This is Steve Allen with theatre in St. Louis for CLASSIC99. |
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