Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – THE BROKEN EAR SETLIST & WEIGHTLESS: The Bengsons and the Kilbanes explore the intriguing possibilities of the “theatrical concert”

• By drediman
• April 22, 2021
• No Comments

I recently streamed a pair of productions that, in my estimation, compellingly explore new avenues in music theater, particularly the intriguing possibilities of the “theatrical concert” sub-genre. Here are my thought.

THE BROKEN EAR SETLIST: SONGS FROM OHIO
The Bengsons / St. Ann’s Warehouse
Live-streamed

Last week at St. Ann’s Warehouse, the husband-and-wife duo of Abigail and Shaun Bengson gave a pair of highly anticipated “work-in-progress” performances of their latest musical confessional, which is entitled The Broken Ear Setlist: Songs from Ohio (RECOMMENDED). As part of the NY PopsUp festival, these theatrical concerts marked the re-activation of the acclaimed Brooklyn theater venue, which has been dormant for more than a year as a result of the pandemic. Although I was unfortunately unable to attend the concert in person (each performance was capped at only 50 attendees), I was able to catch one of the live broadcasts. Ever since I first encountered them a few years ago at the Public’s Under the Radar festival, the Bengsons have fascinated me with their difficult-to-classify alt-folksy music act. Their previous show Hundred Days (the premise of that show: Abigal and Shaun’s relationship) beguiled me with its disarming intimacy yet breathtaking philosophical scope, and their latest, despite its seemingly rambling nature (thematically and structurally), is no exception. Beneath their unassuming personas, the Bengsons possess a keen sensitivity to the nuances of the human experience, as if attuned to wavelengths that most of us aren’t capable of picking up. Despite their shows taking the familiar form of a casual music concert or cabaret, they’re actually quite sophisticated pieces of theater – motifs are organically presented, built upon, and interact with each other (much like Abigail’s audio feedback looping). Although Abigail is the more fiery and outspoken half, Shaun – the mellower, calmer of the two – is here given some hefty material to convey, particularly relating to ongoing issues with his sense of hearing (which acts as a potent metaphor in the show). As with their previous work, The Broken Ear Setlist utilizes probing banter and yearning songs to convert the duo’s deeply personal experiences into something that’s fiercely universal. Still visibly reeling and disoriented from the experience of the past year, the Bengsons in Broken Ear seek to heal and rejuvenate themselves as much as their audiences. They just ask that we collectively take it slowly.

WEIGHTLESS
The Kilbanes / WP Theater
On-demand through May 30

Then we have WP Theater’s filmed production of the Kilbanes’ Weightless (RECOMMENDED), a compact musical retelling of the Greek myth of the two sisters Procne and Philomela and their harrowing, extraordinary adventures. Unlike the Bengsons, the West Coast-based Kilbanes are more interested in dramatic storytelling than deep autobiographical musings. Their work on Weightless is structurally accomplished as it is exciting, melding book musical, storytelling tradition, and rock concert in an astonishingly seamless manner. The work is a rock opera in the truest sense, and it belies the simultaneously oxymoronic high brow / low brow connotations of the term – conveying the story in this hybrid way makes perfect sense when it’s told with this kind of smart economy and purity of intention. The show’s punchy, melodic score (those hooks!) provides the physiological highs of rock music while injecting the narrative with a vibrant, unfiltered urgency that seems natural and, in a sense, necessary. As for the performances, they seem to have gotten deeper than when I last saw the Kilbanes perform the piece two years ago at Under the Radar. In particular, Kate Kilbane and Lila Blue embody the two sisters in performances of unadorned beauty, intensity, and grace. The overwhelming devotion of each sister to the other is the indisputable heart of the show, and the connection between Ms. Kilbane and Ms. Blue is palpable from the get-go. Director Tamilla Woodard’s alfresco staging at the Bruns Amphitheater – the scenic outdoor venue that’s home to the California Shakespeare Theater – is notable for its uncanny fluidity, and it’s been captured handsomely on film. The decision to stick to an artifice-free rock concert presentation was a wise one; anything more visually elaborate would have detracted from the spell cast by the tight unity between the show’s book and score. Indeed, because it unfolds in the mind’s eye, this touching tale of love, tribulation, and transformation is able to truly take wing (pun intended).