Caught the second preview of this last night. David Cramer gave a speech saying they might stop, but aside from a tangled mic cord, the show ran incredibly smoothly.
Personally, I really loved it. The show is presented in a very unique narrative form, cutting back and forth between different time lines and juggling dozens of characters amongst its small cast & band. I don’t know what commercial prospects a piece like this can have, but for what it is, I thought it was incredibly successful.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but there’s several songs I’m still humming today, several hysterical sequences, some gorgeous stage pictures, and stellar performances. Julia Knitel, in particular, gets two incredible solos.
The material, itself, is definitely on the less conventional side, and a lot of the show’s humor is on the more morbid/ dark side. A more grounded “Bloody Bloody...” or a less devastating “Scottsboro Boys.” There were times from the audience’s reaction where I couldn’t tell if the laughs were hitting because they got the joke or because they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. But, personally, I was enthralled.
My advice? Grab a ticket while you can.
Updated On: 3/1/24 at 10:50 AM