In Transit

We have a new incarnation of a show I saw off-Broadway in 2010 at 59E59 Theater.  It really does take time to stew, to mature, and frankly to get the funds to mount an attack on Broadway.  Of course you have to be good, but there was never any doubt even when I saw this show back 6 years ago that it was a keeper.   Penned by a group of tremendously talented singers and artists - this a-capella musical  may not contain the solution to solving world hunger or climate change - but it does most assuredly entertain.  Are the stories fluffy, probably.  Are they stereotypical, likely.  But for sure, they are fun, they are mostly real, and definitely New York stories.

The subway.  The bowels all New Yorkers hate and equally need.  They're dirty, they're crowded, and they are what brings us all together gets us where we are going - both literally and figuratively.  This time around I am fairly sure the main components of the story have remained but without a video tape to watch the prior performance and only memory to go on, I'd say it was basically tightened, honed, and amp'd up just a bit for the Broadway.  There's still a gay couple, Trent (Justin Guarini) and Steven (Telly Leung) with a wedding problem, an actress, Jane (Margo Seibert) looking for her big break, a spot-on subway clerk, Althea, behind the glass (Moya Angela), a wall street guy , Nate, who made a little email mistake trying to make a change (James Snyder), and of course a beat-boxer extraordinaire, Boxman, (Steven "Heaven" Cantor).

All the sounds you hear come from someone's vocal cords - no instruments, all vocals.  Subway seats fly on and fly off - actors parade back and forth on a narrow stage close up to the audience to reveal their stories in the round and up a flight of stairs on a platform above the tracks. Choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, the movements are brisk, crisp, and keep the show's train moving forward. Love is lost, then found again.  Friends and enemies are made and the zany antics of the subway are ever present.

This incarnation of the show is zippy, toe-tapping, touching, and upbeat with a heartwarming message.  Some might say sappy, others would just say fun.  Head over to Circle in the Square and head Deep Beneath the City in more ways than one.

Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812

It's a grand party in a glamorous pop-up cabaret tent right here on Broadway, freshly moved uptown from the Meatpacking district.  One would think the edgy, avant-garde performance style fits best downtown, but clearly the producers are bucking the entrenched Broadway traditions!

The Kazino (the casino) as it's called, is a supper club draped in velvet and adorned with glamorous chandelier lights.   The show takes place throughout the performance space which is dotted with the tables of patrons.  The orchestra is a band located throughout the theatre and the action takes place all around and amongst the patrons who are enjoying wine, cheese and other Russian delights which can be supplemented (read $$$$) with other menu items.

The story comes from an audacious book - War and Peace.  But in reality it's really nothing more than a tele-novella or a lifetime movie,  Girl is left alone by her boyfriend who is off to war.  Girl meets new boy and new boy romances her.  Girl realizes her delicate situation and tries to kill herself but does not succeed.  Boy returns from war.  Longtime friend of girl professes his love for her.  And so goes the evening as a comet descends on the planet.

A+ for performance space and immersive approach to telling the story - no spoken word rather all sung! Not quite as high a grade for the story itself however.  It seems unnecessarily drawn out (perhaps like the book from whence it came).

Overall, the show was magnificent and the evening was an entertainment success but I was left wondering why the story was not as dazzling as the cast, costumes, vocals, band, and venue itself.

Maybe I'll write a letter.