Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – The spirit of the Broadway musical persists in RATATOUILLE: THE TIKTOK MUSICAL and JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

• By drediman
• January 5, 2021
• No Comments

Although live/in-person theater is becoming an increasingly distant memory, the irrepressible spirit of the Broadway musical persists in other mediums. Here are my thoughts on two of these hybrid endeavors.

RATATOUILLE: THE TIKTOK MUSICAL
TodayTix Presents / TikTok

Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical (RECOMMENDED) boasts one of the most unique creation stories I’ve come across. Commencing last summer with a TikTok post by a fan of the 2007 Disney animated film about a rodent who aspires to be a chef, the musical subsequently snowballed into a crowdsourcing phenomenon. Shaping the patchwork material into the efficient 50-minute presentation that was dropped last weekend to benefit BC/EFA was the writing duo of Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley (whose giddy Circle Jerk was one of my top “theater” picks of 2020). Although the show’s abbreviated structure would likely be insufficient for an actual stage production, their skeletal book is ideal for masking the limitations of the virtual format, as is the witty direction by Lucy Moss (whose work on Six is similarly exuberant). The resultant musical speedily taking us from highlight to highlight, courtesy of the musical’s handful of upbeat and catchy songs. Although the score leans towards a generic (but full) sound, the cast – impressively comprised of a bevy of Broadway veterans – put the songs over with delicious aplomb. Particularly wonderful is Tituss Burgess, who stamps the central role of Remy with irresistible heart and awe-shucks charm.

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
Netflix

One of the more notable new musicals in recent months is Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (RECOMMENDED), David E. Talbert’s fantastical and empowering holiday film for Netflix that focuses on the familiar themes of family and redemption. If Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical is threadbare by design, Jingle Jangle is the opposite – it’s filled to the brim with ideas and tautly stretched by its disparate aesthetic points of reference (i.e., steampunk meets classic holiday fare meets Broadway meets pop music video). As such, it calls to mind Wicked, a similarly overstuffed blockbuster musical that attempts to reinvent popular lore. But unlike Wicked, Jingle Jangle works because of and not in spite of its crazy quilt construction. Despite all its bells and whistles, Mr. Talbert’s movie at heart seeks to be a traditional Broadway musical. Luckily, the pristinely-produced songs by John Legend et al. are inspired, operating equally well within the film’s narrative as they do on the radio. When was the last time a Broadway musical accomplished that? The refreshingly diverse cast is just fabulous across the board, but I particularly took to Forest Whitaker and Anika Noni Rose, whose genuinely heartfelt performances emotionally ground the otherwise flamboyant film.