For The Love of The Glove
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Carl Sagan – Ann Druyan Theatre at the CenterfFor Inquiry West
Through June 24
RECOMMENDED
Mix a B-movie sci-fi plot with the life story of the “King of Pop,” add some inventive puppetry and a talented and uninhibited ensemble, and the result is a profane, hilarious, and razor-sharp skewering of the pop culture industry, systemic racism and religious hypocrisy. With director Julien Nitzberg’s clever book and lyrics, arranger/composer Drew Erickson’s and composers Nicole Morier’s and Max Townsley’s engaging music, Robin Walsh’s innovative puppets, and Chris Judd lively choreography, the piece also serves up a compassionate portrait of Michael Jackson, a child star who, like Peter Pan, was truly never allowed to grow up.
“The truth must be told,” declares our narrator Thrihl-Lha (Patrick Batiste) — that truth being that it was he, the iconic sequined “glove,” who made Michael (Eric B. Anthony) the “World’s Greatest Superstar.” He then explains that he was one of five extraterrestrials, all resembling glittering gloves, who escaped from their dying planet of Bazalaam, only to end up in Gary, the dying steel town in Indiana (a state derided in the outrageous, “What Is It About Indiana?”).
Striking a Faustian bargain between the Bazalaamians’ nefarious leader, Vikh-Tah (an inspired Andrew Ableson) and abusive family patriarch, Joe Jackson (Pip Lilly), the aliens infuse the Jackson siblings with extraordinary talent. The aliens hide their identity by, well, acting like gloves, with Michael finding a kindred spirit in the more empathetic Thrihl-Lha and forming an indelible and sometimes spicy bond (“Let A Friend Help You Beat It”).
With Joe as the Jackson 5’s manager, the road leads to Motown mogul Berry Gordy (Daniel Mills) who eschews the brothers’ dreams of making anti-racist message music, schooling them on the value of “crossing over” and making pop pablum that won’t anger the white folks. He also warns them of the “Pat Boone-ing,” phenomenon (“Do You Know What Happened in 1959?”). Other aspects of Jackson’s career are absurdly portrayed, from his vitiligo diagnosis (“What a Delight When You Turn White”) to his AMA “date” with Brooke Shields (understudy Sasha Urban.) Even his Pepsi commercial disaster is ripe for comic fodder.
By using lifelike puppets whose limbs and facial features are manipulated, Bunraku-style, by the actors, the show underscores how the music industry exploits its artists to the hilt, exemplified by Michael getting sucked dry — financially, psychologically and physically — by his family, Motown, and the aliens (“Hate Your Family”). Along the way, the show takes well-deserved potshots at Jackson matriarch Katherine’s (Suzanne Nichols) , along with several religions — Jehovah’s Witnesses, the racist Mormonism of Donny Osmond (Urban) and Shields’ Roman Catholicism (“If I Were a Nun and You Were a Priest”).
The high energy music embraces soul, pop, disco and gospel, and the cast is up to the challenge, both in singing and dancing. Anthony is at turns inane and sympathetic, with his singing and dancing doing his lead character justice. Batiste also delivers some forceful vocals and movements; in his scenes with Anthony, the two display admirable chemistry.
Even with the show’s prodigious mirth, there is also a sincere sympathy for Michael Jackson, whose tortured life remains a cautionary tale of the price of fame and fortune, especially for artists of color navigating the still white-dominated entertainment industry.
Carl Sagan – Ann Druyan Theatre, Center for Inquiry West, 2535 W. Temple St., Echo Park; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru June 24. https://fortheloveofaglove.com/ Running time: 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission.
