VIOLET has an emotionally rich story, a musically diverse and vibrant score, some absolutely thrillingly realized performances and a spiritually and theatrically fulfilling catharsis by its beautiful journey's end.
IF/THEN has a really shiny mirror that occasionally is brought down to reflect on actors and singers trying to make sense of a needlessly complicated (and yet still somehow incredibly shallow) tale with little to take home by way of tuneful music or emotional resonance. It is much belting and fury, signifying nothing.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
