Take Sam Mendes’s Cabaret, toss it in a blender with The Great Comet, add a dash of Crunchyroll and Moulin Rouge, microwave for 90 minutes, and whaddyagot? Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, of course!
First things first: Duncan Sheik’s score is far and away the star here. It’s not all amazing and it longs for the work that a preview period would afford – his love of immediate, obvious rhymes and musical pauses is all too present – but it more often than not captures the ache and immediacy that Leah Nanako Winkler’s book and Rob Ashford’s direction absolutely fail to provide. “Immured” is the show’s crown jewel and Sophia Anne Caruso knocks it out of the park. I would listen to a cast recording regularly. Or Matias’s work is also heavily at play in making the score work, so hat’s off to him.
Performance-wise, Caruso’s voice is unlike anyone else’s working in musical theatre today. It’s not just that she’s able to belt to the rafters, but she has a ferocity and attack that really elevates the material. I was also thrilled and surprised to see Jenny Powers absolutely killing it. Props as well to Caleb Marshall for his spotlight moment and looking just exceptional in every single costume they put him in. Cory Jeacoma would be a really great Patrick in American Psycho, I decided over the course of the runtime, but whatever he’s selling just doesn’t work here and his character’s a repugnant assh*le with zero redemptive qualities who we spend far too much time with.
Overall, the show doesn’t quite work yet. I largely blame Ashford, who simply doesn’t have the directorial chutzpah for what this material requires. Winkler’s book is cheesy and unwieldy, with plot threads left waving in the wind and major plot revelations falling completely flat, but it captures a bit of the cheeky self-awareness of manga that the direction (and, thus, the performances of the actors) misses entirely. I frequently expected more bite, more filth, more rough edges around the corner. Scott Pask and Catherine Zuber understood the assignment, providing a tangible world that feels lived in and vivid despite the relative minimalism, but the director himself appears to be asleep at the wheel and the evening desperately needs a jolt. Get Sam Pinkleton’s eyes on this, stat!
Updated On: 9/29/26 at 10:41 PM
