Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Solo shows that use song to work through grief and trauma: Rachel Bloom’s DEATH, LET ME DO MY SHOW and Thomas Sweitzer’s 20 SECONDS

• By drediman
• September 22, 2023
• No Comments

This week, I encountered a pair of Off-Broadway solo shows that incorporated songs into the fabric their storytelling to work through grief and trauma. As always, here are my thoughts on them.

DEATH, LET ME DO MY SHOW
Lucille Lortel Theatre
Through September 30

First up was Rachel Bloom’s new show Death, Let Me Do My Show (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village. Although not technically a solo show (no spoilers here), the spirit of the work is rooted firmly in the stand-up comedy tradition. And those of you familiar with Bloom’s television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won’t be surprised that the show also heavily features elements of musical theater, namely in the form of the smirking, tongue-in-cheek songs sprinkled throughout. What will surprise fans of the cult series is the stealthy way it uses these songs to squirm into darker, more serious territory — namely death and mortality, vis-à-vis motherhood and the Covid-19 pandemic — than we’re use to from this lovable, girl-next-door comic with a foul mouth. In turn jarringly meta-theatrical and giddily vaudevillian — thanks in large part to director Seth Barrish’s witty, deceptively straightforward staging — Death, Let Me Do My Show is a subversive and observant meditation on that stark reality that stalks us all.

20 SECONDS
Pershing Square Signature Center
Through October 21

Then up at the Pershing Square Signature Center, you’ll find Thomas Sweitzer’s new one-man theatrical memoir 20 Seconds (RECOMMENDED). Written and performed by Sweitzer, the autobiographical solo show chronicles his turbulent coming-of-age story and how the opportunity to engage in music and theater practically saved his life. Indeed, as the co-founder and creative director of A Place to Be — a non-profit dedicated to providing a safe space for music therapy — he’s made it his life’s mission to provide the same life-saving/enhancing service to others. Despite his traumatic upbringing — particularly the due his parents’ extremely volatile relationship — Sweitzer’s performance is mostly animated and jovial, even during much of the material’s more harrowing stretches. Also softening the blow a bit is the inclusion of a number of inspiring (if slightly generic) original songs that arise during the show’s key dramatic moments. Over the course of the show’s 90 minutes, Sweitzer’s spitfire portrayal of a small army of characters impressed with its skill and enthusiasm. And as staged with a sure hand by director Jeremy Scott Blaustein, the entire endeavor comes across as a polished and sturdy piece of theatrical storytelling.