Review: [TITLE OF SHOW] is an Absolute Rice Krispie Treat at Birnton Theatricals

Four chairs and a keyboard are all you need to create a fantastic, original musical about how to create a fantastic, original musical. 15 years after the original premiere of [title of show], Birnton Theatricals has brought these two nobodies in New York to the Calgary stage.

The show is exactly what it claims to be: a semi-biographical telling of two writers who really want to write an original musical for the Musical Theatre Festival in three weeks. Their conversations are written down and presented to the committee and from there, the world opens up. After performing at the festival, the quartet (plus the accompanist who gets two lines in the show) make a debut Off-Broadway and then, in 2008, they take their Broadway bow. And the audience is brought along for the ride.

Directed by Artistic Director Chris Stockton, Birnton's performance takes place in the intimate Lunchbox Theatre and is the perfect place for a relatively empty stage with the space for actors to pour their hearts out. And they absolutely did. The show starts a little jarringly and comes with a requirement of foreknowledge of the history around [title of show]. But once you meet the characters, it all goes away and you're simply enjoying yourself.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, you feel like you've made four new friends, sharing in their sorrows and triumphs; knowing that the story will always continue. Creators Jeff Brown and Hunter Bell (also the lead characters in the production) bring you into the world of New York in the early 2000s with a mix of pop culture references and theatre-exclusive callouts that don't always translate to the average modern audience - a decision they make a point of including because they refuse to compromise their original work. Though you might not understand every reference, this show can speak to every artist and every person who struggles to balance passion and success.

An extra meta moment for Calgary audiences is seeing the character of Jeff (Brown) played by Jeff Follis. He and Daniel Fong (playing Book writer Hunter Bell) shared their immense vocal talent with the smaller black box theatre. With big belting songs and genuine moments of humanity and humor, I completely bought in to their journey. These two barely left the stage but maintained this heightened energy that made the audience feel not that they were sitting in a theatre, but in the actors' living room - the freedom of talking animatedly with a friend versus presenting to a group of strangers. Because the show is so biographical, it lends itself to some characteristic liberty where the line between actor and character is blurred, and I think that made their performances more personable.

I found myself more drawn to the female characters - one a burgeoning actress with mild success, and another a performer who has fallen into the pit of the day job that takes over other creative endeavors. Susan (played by Jessica Eckstadt) and Heidi (played by Kiki Secord) are portrayed as the minor characters but they're given some incredible songs; and the women in this production knocked it out of the park. Both Eckstadt and Secord have different vocal types but they are strong singers and have an opportunity to display their talent in this show. "Die, Vampire, Die" is a testament to Eckstadt's ability to bounce between comedy and drama, and Secord's performance of "A Way Back to Then" brought so much emotion. The four of them have such a unique chemistry and independence as performers, able to both hold their own and blend beautifully.

Larry the accompanist is an interesting character, bridging the gap between the story we're seeing and the theatre in which we're seeing the show. Also musical director for the show, Bruce Petherick made for an endearing, comedic character.

While there isn't a lot of dancing in [title of show], there are certainly a lot of choreographed moments, and Amber Bissonnette created an excellent amalgamation of natural but predetermined movement.

What I liked about this production was the intimate nature of every aspect. You didn't need a giant set or a huge cast to tell this story. Four chairs and a piano are more than enough. Some especially exciting news is the recent announcement of the original cast getting back together for a one-night only reunion of the show. This production is certainly going to be more than nine people's favourite thing.

Birton Theatrical's production of [title of show] is playing at Lunchbox Theatre until March 16th and tickets can be purchased at tickets.lunchboxtheatre.com.

 

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