Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A pair of new Off-Broadway musicals attempt to examine life in the performing arts: A COMMERCIAL JINGLE FOR REGINA COMET and YEAH, BUT NOT RIGHT NOW

• By drediman
• September 28, 2021
• No Comments

Currently Off-Broadway, there are a pair of Off-Broadway musicals that attempt to examine life in the performing arts industry. Here are my thoughts.

A COMMERCIAL JINGLE FOR REGINA COMET
DR2 Theatre
Through November 14

Last night, Ben Fankhauser and Alex Wyse’s new musical A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED) opened at the DR2 Theatre. The work tells the familiar story (e.g., [title of show], Merrily We Roll Along, Tick, Tick… Boom!) of two songwriters trying to break through in the music industry. The duo finally get their shot when the opportunity to write a commercial jingle for an aging pop music icon (Regina Comet) comes their way. Book, music, and lyrics are credited to Mr. Fankhauser and Mr. Wyse, two young men who are perhaps best known as musical theater actors (both have performed on Broadway in supporting roles). Although their book and score – which, alas, tend toward generic – don’t yet have the level of craft and distinctive character as the aforementioned musicals that seem to have inspired them, there’s no denying the show’s charm factor – especially in performance. Indeed, the piece is performed with gusto by Mr. Fankhauser, Mr. Wyse, and the big-voiced Bryonha Marie Parham as Regina Comet. Mr. Wyse and Ms. Parham, especially, deliver the kind of inspired performances that transcend the underlying material.

YEAH, BUT NOT RIGHT NOW
SoHo Playhouse
Through October 17

Then down at SoHo Playhouse, you’ll be able to catch A.J. Holmes’ new one-man show Yeah, But Not Right Now. (RECOMMENDED) In his musical memoir – which straddles cabaret act and musical theater – Mr. Holmes documents his childhood and his time performing across the globe as a young man in The Book of Mormon. As a musical theater performer, he’s always had to put up a front – either as playing a character onstage or simply putting on a happy face in day-to-day life. Through smartly written original songs and some jarringly candid stage banter, Mr. Holmes attempts to strip that facade, sometimes so aggressively as to deem him unlikeable. That’s a risk he’s willing to take, and it pays off artistically. Yeah, But Not Right Now walks a fine line, which keeps the show alive with the kind of messy contradictions and human foibles that make life so endlessly fascinating. To boot, there’s no denying Mr. Holmes’ inherent talent as a performer – he’s got a fantastically legit voice, great comic timing, and superb musicality (his skills on the looping machine is a sight to be seen).