13 The Musical
So I saw the first preview of 13 last night. So I didn't see the show in LA or Goodspeed, but reading the synopsis on Wikipedia, I think JRB, Dan Elish, and Robert Horn have come a long way towards writing a good show. (I'm guessing Jeremy Sams has a hand in that as well.)
The show is structured oddly. Looking at the program, you might assume that it's a show in the vein of Rodgers and Hammerstein, with a very long first act and a much shorter second act. Well, that's not really the case. Even though there are twice as many songs in the first act as there are in the second, both acts run about the same length (an hour, roughly.) And that's because there's a lot more book in the second act than the first. Especially in the first twenty minutes, there is WAY too much exposition and narration. Evan, the protagonist, is telling us, "Oh no! I have to move to hickville, Indiana! But it's ok, cause I have a new awesome best friend! But no one else in school likes her so I'm going to treat her like crap in front of them. And now I feel terrible." After those first twenty minutes, the rest of the show feels fully-developed. But those first twenty minutes need a lot more showing and a lot less telling. The songs help with that; they do what JRB is so good at doing - capturing a vivid moment in a character's life. Unfortunately, those moments seem stitched together for those first twenty minutes. "What It Means To Be A Friend" (which is available for download on JRB's website) is a very good song. But it almost seems to mean too much at that point in the show. It should be emotional and moving, but since we've rushed through the events leading to it, it doesn't really leave an impact at all.
Ok, I've talked enough about the first twenty minutes. Really, the rest of the show is much better. I almost think the second act is stronger because there's so much more book. The only problems I had with the rest of the script was that the one-liners occasionally sounded as though they were written by adults trying to sound like kids. For the most part, Mr. Elish and Mr. Horn have captured these 13-year-olds' voices. Oh, actually, there was one thing I never understood: why was Patrice hated by everyone? She says something like, "They hate anyone who thinks for themselves," but it seemed a little unbelievable that everyone in the school would hate this perfectly nice, cute girl. Maybe if we saw something that she did that was an example of this independence... But we don't.
I would say the cast still has a little way to go. Too often, their acting is very generalized, with the young cast playing at attitudes and moods rather than objectives. But they're young, and I'm sure Jeremy Sams will work with them on that. They all sing and dance very well, and some of them are naturals onstage - Aaron Simon Gross, playing Archie, has a way of stealing every scene he's in, Graham Phillips holds the show together as Evan, and I also thought Elizabeth Egan Gilles attacked her role (Lucy, the slut) with gusto (although she did have a few too many generalized moments.) In two smaller roles, I thought Ariana Grande as Charlotte and Al Calderon as Eddie were both excellent. In fact, I should probably mention "Bad Bad News" - a blues/gospel showstopper for the popular boys, bemoaning Lucy's position as the new girlfriend of their leader, in the second act.
This post probably sounds a little more negative than positive, but really I had a very good time. And if they can just fix the first 20 minutes of the show, it'll be a fun, heartwarming musical comedy for the whole family.
The show is structured oddly. Looking at the program, you might assume that it's a show in the vein of Rodgers and Hammerstein, with a very long first act and a much shorter second act. Well, that's not really the case. Even though there are twice as many songs in the first act as there are in the second, both acts run about the same length (an hour, roughly.) And that's because there's a lot more book in the second act than the first. Especially in the first twenty minutes, there is WAY too much exposition and narration. Evan, the protagonist, is telling us, "Oh no! I have to move to hickville, Indiana! But it's ok, cause I have a new awesome best friend! But no one else in school likes her so I'm going to treat her like crap in front of them. And now I feel terrible." After those first twenty minutes, the rest of the show feels fully-developed. But those first twenty minutes need a lot more showing and a lot less telling. The songs help with that; they do what JRB is so good at doing - capturing a vivid moment in a character's life. Unfortunately, those moments seem stitched together for those first twenty minutes. "What It Means To Be A Friend" (which is available for download on JRB's website) is a very good song. But it almost seems to mean too much at that point in the show. It should be emotional and moving, but since we've rushed through the events leading to it, it doesn't really leave an impact at all.
Ok, I've talked enough about the first twenty minutes. Really, the rest of the show is much better. I almost think the second act is stronger because there's so much more book. The only problems I had with the rest of the script was that the one-liners occasionally sounded as though they were written by adults trying to sound like kids. For the most part, Mr. Elish and Mr. Horn have captured these 13-year-olds' voices. Oh, actually, there was one thing I never understood: why was Patrice hated by everyone? She says something like, "They hate anyone who thinks for themselves," but it seemed a little unbelievable that everyone in the school would hate this perfectly nice, cute girl. Maybe if we saw something that she did that was an example of this independence... But we don't.
I would say the cast still has a little way to go. Too often, their acting is very generalized, with the young cast playing at attitudes and moods rather than objectives. But they're young, and I'm sure Jeremy Sams will work with them on that. They all sing and dance very well, and some of them are naturals onstage - Aaron Simon Gross, playing Archie, has a way of stealing every scene he's in, Graham Phillips holds the show together as Evan, and I also thought Elizabeth Egan Gilles attacked her role (Lucy, the slut) with gusto (although she did have a few too many generalized moments.) In two smaller roles, I thought Ariana Grande as Charlotte and Al Calderon as Eddie were both excellent. In fact, I should probably mention "Bad Bad News" - a blues/gospel showstopper for the popular boys, bemoaning Lucy's position as the new girlfriend of their leader, in the second act.
This post probably sounds a little more negative than positive, but really I had a very good time. And if they can just fix the first 20 minutes of the show, it'll be a fun, heartwarming musical comedy for the whole family.