Beau: The Musical- Page 2

[Kad]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 11:08am

I saw this recently and thought the show itself is fine. The plot is a little been-here, seen-this, an angsty teenage coming-out with bullying, self-harm, family drama, and self-acceptance. The most interesting aspect- Matt Rodin's gay teen character connecting with his estranged grandfather who is himself a closeted gay man- is strangely under-explored. We get glimpses of Beau's past in a few short scenes- a hookup turned unrequited love, his wife leaving with his daughter- but only glimpses that aren't really developed much. While I appreciate a show not explaining everything, the writers arguably leave far too much to audience inference. The poster has a lot of memorabilia and imagery spanning the 50s through the 70s- a button for the ERA, Physique Pictorials, photos of concerts and performers- but none of that history is really in the show or the characters, aside from a guitar being named after Rosetta Tharpe. The cross-generational link between Beau and Ace is ostensibly the focus here, but it just felt so broad strokes. Secret-keeping is a major theme of the show, but that makes for unfulfilling scenes (particularly when the audience is privy to these secrets far before the characters are).

The score, again- fine. I couldn't really name a song or hum a tune, but fortunately you have this cast singing and playing the instruments.

The cast is really the driving force here. The show is truly a showcase for Matt Rodin, who is the focus of every scene, who sings most of the score (and sings the **** out of it), who has to portray an adult and high schooler, while also narrating the show and interacting with the audience. His charisma and talent is off-the-charts and show works as well as it does largely because of the sheer force of his performance. 

Jeb Brown brings the same gravelly, endearing energy here he did in Dead Outlaw.  He brings a lot of color to a character that is rarely more than just an archetype- a "bad grandpa" type of character, crotchety and self-destructive but with a heart of gold. I wish he got to sing anything at least half as catchy and compelling as "Dead," though. 

The venue itself looks great- it certainly looks and feels like a dive-y country music bar and venue, and the production itself is very handsome and well-done. 

Ultimately, I think chrishuyen nailed it- it's good, not great, and highly elevated by its performances. It feels mean to be more critical of a show like this in the times we're living in, but at the same time, we need more than self-acceptance platitudes. 

 

[BensHairyAss]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 11:39am

He was mediocre in the nation tour of Company. Certainly no where near as good as Matt Doyle. 

[Kad]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 11:40am

BensHairyAss said: "He was mediocre in the nation tour of Company. Certainly no where near as good as Matt Doyle."

Well, this isn't the tour of Company, BroadwayFlash. 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 3:13pm

Agree with Kad. The musical strangely ignores, or doesn't delve deep enough, into the one aspect that makes its story unique. The connection between Ace and his grandfather Beau would be a fascinating element to explore fully. So much of their lives run parallel to each other, in terms of experiences and identity. Two men dealing with similar things, but from different generations. How might these disparate generational experiences affect one another? But the book and score frequently jettison this story element in favor of "seen it all before" elements like "coming out is hard" and "angsty teen bonds with cooler adult figure instead of Mom and stepdad." We've seen all that stuff in Saturday Morning Specials for decades. Matt Rodin and Jeb Brown are great, the music thumps along with a great pulse. But ultimately, it was just "ok." I wish they could refocus the story on the interesting bits.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 3:19pm

I mentioned in my previous post that I couldn't really pinpoint what was off about the show to me, but I think you hit the nail on the head, Kad.  It doesn't actually dig into the characters in a way that makes them seem fully realized, and especially not in their relationships with each other.  I do wonder if the pretense of the show being a concert hurt it in that aspect, as I did find that framing device to be fairly wishy washy in how it was used as well.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 3:23pm

I found it really strange we never see Ace learn that Beau was gay and have to grapple with that. It’s implied his mom told him at some point, but it’s never made clear and never depicted. 

[schubox]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 4:15pm

Is there any chance this extends? It's closing a couple weeks before I'm back

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 4:40pm

I saw it Sunday matinee and I honestly love this show so much because it’s an inventive way of telling a story that doesn’t involve going into the after-school special realm.

I will say that some of the cast changes definitely caused a dynamic change. Downtown, Cory Jeacoma had the alpha-bully type nailed down, but I found him to be always guarded and never softening enough to a necessary level of vulnerability. Max Sangerman now plays the role and he does unlock that vulnerability and it makes Ace’s final rebuke of him that much more powerful to me.

Meanwhile, Chris Bisset was Beau downtown and I found him to be a harder-edged version of the character, which created more of a polarity with his inner self, especially during the scenes with his lover. I thought bringing back Jeb Brown would’ve been a great thing since he originated the role, but I’m not sure anything new was added. It felt like he was able to slide back into his “Dead Outlaw” balladeer persona with that low, gruff voice. Jeb did not land the severity of “I don’t repeat myself” the way that Chris did. Jeb’s performance isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s a bit more…subliminal?

Kad said: "I found it really strange we never see Ace learn that Beau was gay and have to grapple with that. It’s implied his mom told him at some point, but it’s never made clear and never depicted."

It could also be one of those things that didn’t need to be said. Considering how queer people tend to recognize their own community, it’s possible that Ace was aware that Beau was gay and thus he had found someone he could confide in, making his loss all that more crushing.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 4:55pm

schubox said: "Is there any chance this extends? It's closing a couple weeks before I'm back"

Short of absolutely nobody seeing the show, I can’t imagine it won’t crank out at least another month or two. OOTB now owns (or has a controlling stake in) St. Luke’s, so I can’t imagine they would want to kill off their own show unless they had a good reason 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 5:15pm

Finally saw this and I allowed myself to enjoy it for what it was. Reddit has a completely different take on this show. Fascinating the stark difference….