NEXT THING YOU KNOW-Musical at NYU

[sinceshowboat]

Posted: 10/13/07 at 7:53pm

The Steinhardt School at New York University continues this weekend its committment to presenting and producing new musicals. The new series, "Musicals a la Carte" at the Proveincetown Playhouse began with another tuner seeing its first light of day: "Next Thing You Know: New Songs from Salzman and Cunningham" by, well, (Joshua) Salzman and (Ryan) Cunningham.

"New Songs" is an apt subtitle for the evening of music, for there is no book or narrative to speak of. Which is not to say that the evening is not enjoyable, it certainly is, but the new musical is more of song cycle and less of a musical comedy. (Don't expect "My Fair Lady," maybe "Myths and Hymns.") With no story to anchor the show, the music and lyrics are all the foundation there is. Good thing, then, the foundation is laid by a talented composer and lyricist.

Salzman and Cunningham have a gift for songwriting. They join the ranks of other young musical theatre composers with tuneful, pop-influenced scores and super-vernacular lyrics. The pair writes musically and lyrically in the language we speak today: pop licks abound in the score, and four-lettered friends, NetFlix references, and even a "douche bag" appear in the lyrics. This is a new language of musical theatre, designed to speak the language of, and in doing so connect with, a new generation of theatre goers. And, for the most part, the team is successful. On the downside, much of the score sounds similar: many songs are pop ballads about lost love. On the upside, the team bursts through occassionally with a jazzy piano sequence right out of the Blue Note, or a psuedo-Barbershop song. These moments give an inkling to what composer Joshua Salzman will show us in the future.

The content of the evening is a sort of musical collage. Most songs present an image, a moment in a life. These images are ones that we all recognize: the moment New York lost its lustre to us; the desire for a loved one to just accept us as we are, and stop trying to make us something more; and the constant wondering why someone who seems to hate you so much is dating you. We are presented with people and experiences we recognize.

So many images, however, do not make clear picture. At the end of performance, we are not quite sure what we're supposed to make of it. It is a bit like seeing bits and pieces of puzzle, some of which make sense individually, but never getting all of the pieces put together. The show is in development, a "house being built," and as such, the pieces are just pieces, and they will come together later.

Even if the puzzle never comes together, in the hands of these beautifully-singing and adept performers, you cannot take your eye off of each piece when you get it. Energetically and interestingly staged by John Simpkins, the group of five singers present a group of adults in flux, somewhere after college, somewhere before joining AARP. Jay Armstrong Johnson in particular stands out; during the group numbers, he tells his own story so thoroughly that you want to watch him until you can figure out what that story is.

These performers, this director, this lyricist, and this composer are far from done catching our ear and eye. Not only is this a step in the development of this show, it is a clear, solid, resounding step in the development of all their careers. Whether or not you catch "Next Thing You Know," any one of the folks behind the show may well be in the next thing you see.