Jannisi Jones, Jeron Devonte and Anthony Zermeno (Photo by Darrin Yalacki)
Reviewed by Martín Hernández
Write Act Repertory at the Brickhouse Theatre
Through August 1
RECOMMENDED
Cate Harbin, Ann Li, Christina Giordano and Christine Hughes (Photo by Darrin Yalacki)
Ranging from the grim to the sublime to the frivolous, these six short original musicals explore a variety of subjects: self-sabotaging anxiety, the conflict between old and new, and smothering mothering. Where the vocals are weak, the actors are able to compensate with committed characterizations, while other cast members offer more vivid vocalizing. Though no song list is provided in the program, the lyrics and dramatic situations of the skits give an inkling of the tunes’ meanings.
First up is A Hot Mess, written by Helena Maggiore, with music and lyrics composed by Maggiore and Alvin Smith. The plot concerns a rock singer named Harlowe (Ann Li), who suffers a panic attack at a crucial gig. The people around her respond in various ways. Her manager Karen (Christina Giordano) tries to calm her down. One bandmate (Christine Hughes) wants her gone, while another bandmate (Cate Harbin) wants to help. Maggiore’s tale of redemption and friendship is undercut by director Tiffani Ann Mills’s awkward staging and the stilted lyrics from Maggiore and Smith.
When bride-to-be Anna (Janissi Jones) needs a real ID to travel for her destination wedding, she gets a lesson in love from a surprising source in writer, director and composer Chris McGriff’s comic tale, A Real ID. A week from her nuptials and unbeknownst to her fiancé Chase (Anthony Zermeno), Anna has yet to apply for this essential document. Her encounter with Beverly (Jeron Devonté), an exasperated (aren’t they all?) clerk at the DMV, reveals a deeper reason for Anna’s procrastination, which leads her to an unpleasant but illuminating insight. Devonté shines as Beverly, though his brassy gospel-tinged delivery sometimes makes it hard to decipher the lyrics. McGriff’s witty staging, from the opening wedding scene to a coy bit with a hairbrush, augments the shenanigans.
Writer, director, and co-composer David Lvov’s gloomy Yellow Plague pits conventional medicine against traditional healing in a small 1879 Louisiana town. Aided by co-composers Dan Brownfield and Teni Nadnuto, Lvov’s tale follows big city doctor Marcelus (Jack Sweeney) as he comes to the aid of his friend Wilton‘s (an overly intense Gilad Nilo) ailing wife, Tillie (Giordano). A devout Chrisitan, Tillie and many of her fellow townsfolk are infected by a mysterious fever and are being cared for by the local traditional healer Suzanna (Teni Oduntan). Suzanna questions Marcelus’s “modern” methods while the doctor’s true reason for denouncing Suzanna’s practices comes in a disturbing revelation. The songs lean to the mordant, save for Tillie’s inspirational closing song.
Co-writer/composers Susan C. Hunter’s and Tom Shelton’s outlandish farce, The Disappearance of Norman Crabbe, has its wealthy and eccentric title character (Eric V. Crumley) faking his own death when the Wall Street rat race – and his clinging wife Florence (Alyssa Lomosad) – become too much for him. Norman has absconded to a desert island to find solace in solitude thousands of miles from his troubles. But Val (Isa Fuller), the private pilot Norman hired to drop him off, has brought him a special delivery “surprise” that sets a frenzied Norman off in a race to save his newfound freedom. Crumley makes up for his vocal limitations with a silly turn as Norman (especially in the opening number) and Lomosad is a hoot as femme fatale Florence, notwithstanding Hunter’s languid direction.
Writer/director Dmitry Parkhomchuk and composer Gleb Bubnov take motherly love to the extremes inEmbrace The Cringe, which depicts a mother’s unconventional devotion to her son. When Eddie (Joshua Gill) tries to get into the hippest club in town to meet up with his girlfriend, the club’s Bouncer (Nilo) puts the kibosh on his endeavors. Enter Eddie’s mom (Linda Nile), whose past encounters at the same club prompt her to give Eddie unwanted pointers on how to get in, the piece skewers celebrity culture as insipid influencers (Olive Banny and Lomosad) are allowed in the club instead of Eddie.
Another Time is writer, director, and composer Darrin Yalackin’s bittersweet, novel spin on learning to move on after a beloved’s death. As they wake up in separate beds, Sam (Harbin), and Lee (Maggie Borgen) each lament the loss of the other, so it is uncertain just which one of the two has died in the car crash that the other survived. The narrative then flashes back to what sparked their romance, making us privy to the depth of their affection, which is later epitomized in an entrancingly celestial pas de deux (choregraphed by Harbin). Hughes and Banny offer comic and harmonious relief as friends of the two lovers who encourage each to move on. Harbin’s and Borgen’s lilting voices, either solo or in harmony, relay joy in songs born of pain that serve as solace for the untimely passing of a lover.
Write Act Repertory at the Brickhouse Theatre, 10950 Peachgrove St., N. Hollywood.; Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sun., July 12, 2 pm; thru Aug. 1. http://writeactrep.simpletix.com
