Edgenewyork.com article about With Glee
With Glee (NYMF)
by Rob Lester
EDGE New York City Contributor
Sunday Oct 7, 2007
Since the musical With Glee is all about school, here is a review in report card form:
NAME: With Glee, labeled "a new, old-fashioned musical comedy"
GRADE LEVEL: 5 adult actors play students who are about 13 years old, stuck at a boarding school they mostly hate, with other boys they often hate and "where the teachers suck." (Two other actors play all the adult characters)
ATTENDANCE: You really should attend. It’s laugh out loud funny, devilishly so.
SUBJECTS...
LANGUAGE ARTS: Cleverly written, with witty lines ("My parents were afraid I was gay, so they sent me to an all-boys boarding school."; ""Sure, I blew up my school and it burned for half a day, but that’s no reason to send me away."
MUSIC: The songs are a real pleasure, with brimming energy, sarcasm and occasionally surprisingly touching moments. The standout is the boys’ group number called Normal in which the motley crew of outcasts revels in the possibility of being considered normal, and it’s a celebration performed to a tee-riffic conclusion.
SOCIAL STUDIES: The boys have social problems, angst, anti-social behavior and socially unacceptable desires like stealing, preferring the company of an inanimate object (a model boat), and are social outcasts before and after arriving (only one is not wealthy, but he lies well, sort of).
SCIENCE: This cast has mastered the science of portraying kids (and adults as kids see them). Goofy, loopy, pouting, raging, and yet under the surface quite vulnerable. Chemical reaction of humor plus talent equals explosive qualities. And that’s a good thing.
HISTORY: The show and its cast have all studied at NYU in the music/theatre programs, where John Gregor (music/lyrics/book) also got his Masters. The show was previously performed there. Director Ryan Mekenian began a workshop series in alliance with the school to premiere new work.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES: Another strong song lets the boys rant about having to study a dead language while singing witty words in modern English.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION: The lively choreography by Billy Griffin has the boys channeling that growing-boy energy and bursting with joy and frustrations, incorporating musical theatre vocabulary wonderfully.
MATH: Do the math! It all adds up to a sharp, sparkling show, with the skills Rob Hartmann’s orchestrations and diving-in enthusiasm of musical director Lindsay Weiner (on piano, joined just by one other person, Aravind Sreenivasan on drums and percussion). The 90-minute fast-moving intermissionless funfest is relatively problem-free, subtracting a few kinks that could be worked out and a few things rethought. Laughs and pleasures multiply and the credit is divided among the staff and the actors, all cited below individually.
ART: It’s an art to carry off this kind of material and extra credit goes to the fine, fine cast and director for making is work so well. It’s entertaining, snarky, cute, edgy, sweet, subversive, and winks at the styles of musical comedy while embracing them. At first, the gimmick of (albeit boyish-looking) adults playing boys on the cusp of adolescence and two actors (the versatile Michael J. Miller and Elizabeth Kerins) playing all the parents and school staff so broadly makes the show feel like a comedy sketch with gimmicks, just played for laughs. Oh, and there are plenty of those. But soon you begin to accept these five fellows as boys and even begin to care about them.
Greg Kenna as Nathaniel is the ever-friendly one who is relatively well adjusted and freest of exaggerated odd behaviors, so may be the first for an audience to find believable. Projecting vulnerability and goodwill, he sings especially well (the harmonies in this show are wonderful) and he shows a lot of heart in his characterization.
Kevin Michael Murphy as Kip, the boy who sends pre-gaydar alerts is a hoot and his animated, high-energy performance gets high marks all around. Avoiding extreme stereotypes, he keeps the campiness in check. His character’s theatricality, his eyes popping with pleasure, and his moments of self-satisfaction and sneering are expertly carried off. Kip’s real sexual desires (such as attraction to the other boys) are never explored. An extended musical sequence involves the presentation of a show Kip wrote (Tomas: A One-Act musical) with excesses and heavy, heavy influences of mega-musical melodrama styles that is magnificently executed and written.
More character development would be in order for the role of Clay, as he seems to be too much focused on the love of his model boat above all else. It’s stretched too thin, and deprives the obviously talented actor Dan Lawler of showing a broader range. But he is consistent and entertaining and unlike his character, interacts well.
Justin Bellero is the richest of the rich kids, Scott, and performs well all around, though it would be great to have moments where the neglect of the parents and the resulting gaps in confidence and loneliness were taken more seriously. The actor is a strong performer.
Ryan Speakman is Sam, the poor kid thrown into the mix. He’s an especially appealing performer, in a quieter way, somewhat the observer. Some of his reactions are particularly good, if you keep your eye on him (which is easy to do): a perfect moment is where he reacts in worried horror to a plot the others are hatching: "We could be expelled!!!" he cries in knee-jerk dismay. Then, remembering how much he hates the prison-like school, his face lights up ... with glee.
With Glee is how the audience reacts to this show, whether it’s in admiration for the skill of the performing, the material, or the shared experience of rooting for the underdogs. As the play goes on, you sense more and more of the audience connecting to the kids they once were, the kid we all carry inside us, and cheering for that, too. But there’s lots to cheer for here as these boys struggle to bond and grow up. I hope With Glee grows up to be a big, fat, long-running hit.
A for effort and a place on the Honor Roll.
At the 45th Street Theater, 354 West 45 St. Part of NYMF (see www.nymf.org or call 212-352-3101) Tickets are $20. Continues Oct. 5 at 4:30; October 6 at 1 pm; October 7 at 4:30 pm (the last day of the entire festival).
Rob Lester is a freelance writer living in New York City. He also the "Sound Advice" CD review column and other articles for www.TalkinBroadway.com, as well as pieces for www.CabaretExchange.com and is a judge for the annual Nightlife Awards. As far as music, he has a lifelong affection, collection and connection.
http://www.edgenewyork.com/index.php?ci=&ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=performance&id=7482
