Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – SEUSSICAL & HEATHERS: Cult favorite musicals find their voice in their condensed cabaret incarnations

• By drediman
• November 30, 2021
• No Comments

Last week at two of New York’s premiere cabaret venues catering to musical theater buffs, I was struck by the level of enthusiasm that was met by a pair of cult favorite musicals, which – for the respective cabaret incarnations – were condensed to highlight and uncover the strength of their scores. Here are my thoughts on these enjoyable outings.

THE MUSIC OF: HEATHERS, THE MUSICAL
The Green Room 42

First up at The Green Room 42 was The Music of: Heathers, the Musical(RECOMMENDED), an homage to Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s 2014 musical, which in turn is based on the cult film of the same name. The dark high school musical comedy was brought to life by producer/director Michael Restaino’s immersive concert staging and music supervisor Skyler Fortgang’s rollicking band. Although the musical hasn’t (yet) played Broadway, O’Keefe and Murphy’s emotive, pseudo-angsty rock score and unapologetically adult book has obviously struck a chord with a generation of musical theater fans. Indeed, many in the sold out audience welcomed songs such as “Beautiful”, “Candy Store”, “Dead Girl Walking”, and “Seventeen” with ecstatic hoots and cheers. And for good reason, the young and talented cast, as ably led by Tory Vagasy (of America’s Got Talent) and Chandler Sinks, put on an amped up show.

SEUSSICAL REUNION CONCERT
Feinstein’s/54 Below

Also sold out was last week’s starry reunion concert of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Seussical (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), which enjoyed a short-to-modest run on Broadway back in 2000/2001. Although the original production of the musical – a mash-up of Dr. Seuss stories – was met with critical ambivalence, it has since found itself consistently among the most staged musicals across the country, thanks largely to the strength of Ahrens and Flaherty’s heartfelt, expertly-crafted, and considerably underrated score. Many of the key members of the original cast were re-assembled – including Kevin Chamberlin (Horton the Elephant), Janine LaManna (Gertrude McFuzz), and Anthony Blair Hall (Jojo) – and they were joined by other Broadway veterans who at some point were involved with the show (e.g., Sara Gettelfinger, Ann Harada, Cathy Rigby). Directed by Jerome Vivian and music directed by David Madre, the evening was a lovingly performed tribute (more often than not wonderfully in character) that touched the audience, many of us longtime devotees of the work.

Who knows, maybe even Diana, the Musical (which I recently reviewed and in which I detected a potential for cult fandom) will one day find its voice in such cabaret settings as these.