My Date With Death – A Musical Romance

Reviewed by Lara J. Altunian 
The Zoo Theatre Co. 
Through December 2 

Romance, comedy, jazz music, philosophy, science fiction — writer, composer, and lyricist Daniel Sugimoto’s My Date With Death takes on a wide-range of genres, and bites off more than it can chew in the process. Well-intentioned with its theme of suicide awareness, the musical romance is a quirky show that fails to fluidly marry its styles together, despite its many interesting and heartwarming moments. Instead, the hodgepodge of motifs creates confusion and campiness that unnecessarily lengthens the play’s plot rather than enhances it.

Link (Sugimoto) is at a bar drinking away his last hope to live. Drunk and dejected, he pops a bottle of pills into a tall tumbler of whisky. Before he can take the first sip, a grim reaper–like figure referred to as Lady Death (Samantha M. Lawrence) stops time and intervenes in Link’s decision. Link is strangely unafraid, and shows a deep lack of concern with her presence and her confusing explanation of energy recycling — the process through which all living things affect each other, passing along their soul’s power to a new model (body or being) when they die. Lady Death reveals that suicide ends a model’s energy, which is why the soul collector has been sent to present Link with alternative options in an attempt to both save his life and spiritual force. As she tries to help him understand the consequences of his actions and why his existence matters to the universe, the two launch into a discussion of philosophy and religion, growing closer in the process and fueling a budding romance based on their pain.

The best part of My Date With Death is the performers’ singing talent. Designed as a Jazz musical, Broadway performers Sugimoto and Lawrence are able to deliver each number with skilled finesse. Lawrence especially is able to elevate each of Sugimoto’s songs with every lingering note. However, Sugimoto’s decision to play to their strengths is also a cause for his play’s downfall. During the short 90-minute run time, the two race through 15 lengthy songs that could tire even the biggest musical fan. The music’s melody is fairly forgettable, and the lyrics, as well-constructed and poetic as they are, complicate the descriptions of Sugimoto’s world. The dialogue between the two characters actually forms the most clear and compelling explanations for the play’s sci-fi background.

The second half of the musical improves upon much of the mishmash served up in the first. The romance aspect is more corny than cute and the humor falls flat, but their debates are the real force that help shoot the show forward onto a more accessible path viewers can follow. The repetition and elaboration upon the Dr. Who–esque ideas initially helps the characters dive deeper into existential questions about morality, obligation, and emotions. However, after Link and Lady Death begin to answer the big questions Link struggled with at the beginning of the play, the energy up-cycling theory begins to feel like an unnecessary garnish to the real, universal conversations and connections that take place between the two characters.

My Date With Death’s saving grace is undoubtedly its message to value all life no matter what. However predictable the ending, it’s a sweet stab at analyzing the reasons why people become depressed, what’s worth fighting for, and how to find the balance in all of life’s ups and downs. A cleaner approach to the already complex topics may have resulted in a more coherent production.

The Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Sat.-Sun., 8 p.m.; through Dec. 2. TheZooTheatreCo.com. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.