I saw it at The Atlantic, but haven't had the time for a return visit yet since it's move to Broadway. Downtown, I found the performances to be energetic and often engaging (though some of the ensemble was a bit too cartoonish) and Mayer's staging to be some of the best I've seen from him (not that I was a fan before, but he does a very good job of pacing here and creating some lovely stage pictures with the aid of the set and lighting designers). I did find, though, that his transitions between the book scenes and the music were often jarring and not as seamlessly accomplished as they could have been, making the core conceit of using contemporary rock as a backdrop for an 1890 story feel more anachronistic than it ideally could be.
I thought Sheik's score, while catchy with a properly propulsive drive, worked on its own terms (and will probably sound fine on CD), but failed to be fully integrated into the storytelling. It often only functioned to set mood and occasionally comment on the action, rather than being a vital part of it, rarely serving to inform character or advance the plot -- which ideally should be the function of a theatre score. The score struck me as a bit anthem-heavy, with lyrics that too often relied on slogans and cheap sentiment rather than genuinely expressed thoughts and emotions.
Problems in the book also heighten the rather disjoined marriage of story and song, remaining too faithful to the source material -- which works on its own terms as an example of 19th century German expressionism, but, as written, isn't an ideal blueprint for a musical. Characters are sketchily drawn and situations are underdeveloped -- issues which a more integrated score could have help solve, but as presented here, neither the book nor the score have overcome the representational nature of the material and lack the necessary depth to make the sort of impact the creators intended.
There are a lot of interesting aspects to the piece and there were a few numbers which I enjoyed and found compelling, but I was disappointed with the overall execution.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
