I saw the immense talent on stage in both Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac. (There are no names to the characters they play). Yes, it's a vaudville-esque show for sure. I believe the theme is generally that they're the last two men alive on the planet after a flood (queue thunder and lightening for a tad too long in the beginning). They find each other through the music and dance for the next 95 minutes (this is where they lost me). Immense talent aside, the two engaged in quite a wide genre of musical numbers - from Sondheim to R.E.M. and The Ragtime Theme to Row, Row, Row your Boat! Often times clown like and always in the vaudeville style, the two sang their heads off.
Kudos to director and choreographer Susan Stroman, lighting director Ken Billington, costume designer William Ivey Long, and set designer Beowulf Boritt - an all star assembly of creative talent!
I'm still not quite so clear that anyone would want to see this show for any other reason than to just see Mandy and Taylor perform. Heck, some people would go see them read the phone book ...But in this case, they don't really need one because they're the last two left!