[ssba]
Scary Musical The Musical
Reviewed by Paul Birchall
NoHo Arts Center
Through Nov. 9
In this quirky horror musical (credited to Richard Hochberg and Michael Paternostro), a psychotic killer stalks the halls of Vera Miles High School, slicing up drama club students like sushi.
Yes, it’s true, there are so many musical spoofs of slasher movies, you almost wish Freddy or Jason would just slash ‘em all away and let God sort them out, but this time, it’s the audience that strikes the killing blow: Midway through the show, we get to whip out our cell phones and vote on who the murderer is.
Following a Scream-like prologue in which sultry Drew (Laurel Carlson), the star of the high school’s next musical, is murdered (in song, natch) after being lured to a mysterious rehearsal hall in the middle of nowhere, the remaining members of the drama club assemble to debate who the killer might be – and who might be the next victim.
The trouble is, the drama club members could all just as easily be either killer or victim: There’s Norman Hates (August Emerson), a spooky young nerd with a mother fixation; uptight Carrie (Leigh Golden), who seems to have mysterious psychic powers; sexy and sinister stud Jason (Keir Kirkegaard); and manic, aspiring musician Freddy (Frank Authello Andrus, Jr.). Into the creepy stew of suspects and potential victims walks new student Jamie Lee (Jane Papageorge), whose arrival is simultaneous with news that a maniac has escaped from the nearby mental institution. The school halls soon run with blood – and the corpses are soon piled high.
Hochberg’s musical is, strictly speaking, slighter than it needs to be, and the book’s choppy structure and internal contradictions come across as being sloppy and inadequately thought through. That said, it’s certainly a mistake to expect this show to be anything other than frothy, ghoulish fun – and director James J. Mellon’s staging is as cheerful (during the quick witted musical numbers) and as suspenseful (during the chilling bits) as any scare fan might wish.
One of the great pleasures in Hochberg’s book is trying to keep track of the frequently subtle references to B-movies – and not just the cheesy slasher pics, either. Of course, films like Scream, Friday the 13t” and Nightmare on Elm Street get their due, but there are also unexpected allusions to All About Eve and Mommie Dearest as well. The inside jokes are sometimes at the expense of narrative coherence, though, and the tone unexpectedly lacks the edge a show like this needs, while the story is too diced up for musical lovers to fully enjoy.
Even so, the mostly rock-style score is catchy and, thanks to Brent Crayon’s taut musical direction, the ensemble contains some remarkably strong voices, particularly when the songs call for intensity and possible madness. If you want to take note of an emergent talent, witness the kookily charismatic Emerson’s lustrously voiced turn as the deranged Norman, a performance that is both quirky, yet strangely moving – he somehow captures both the essence of madness and high school vulnerability. Also engaging are Papageorge’s slightly off-kilter New Girl at School and Matthew Tyler’s hilariously pervy school drama teacher. In a supporting role, a drolly brittle Candi Milo offers a nicely starched turn as a sleazy Courtney Cox-like TV reporter.
NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd (at Lankershim), N. Hlywd.; Thurs.- Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through November 9. (818) 508-7101, Ext. 6, www.nohoace.com.
