Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The heartfelt but undercooked new musical DISTANT THUNDER engages in a welcome new perspective

• By drediman
• October 16, 2024
• No Comments

Currently over at A.R.T./New York Theatres in Hell’s Kitchen, you’ll be able to find the Off-Broadway musical Distant Thunder, which I attended on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Conceived by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and featuring a book by Taylor-Corbett and his mother Lynn Taylor-Corbett, as well as a score by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Chris Wiseman (with additional music by Robert Lindsey-Nassif and Michael Moricz), the new musical tells the prodigal son-like story of a young man — born into the Blackfeet tribe but raised largely in White society — whose homecoming to his tribe goes anything but smoothly (the musical also bears more than a passing resemblance to the plot of The Lion King).

First and foremost, Distant Thunder is notable for providing audiences a welcome look into a community — that of the Indigenous American people — that’s often overlooked in theater and popular culture at large. Taking its inspiration from a number of true events that transpired on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, the work is an undeniably heartfelt tribute to a resilient and proud people — complete with an endearing roster of characters that make sitting through the show a pleasant and enriching experience — and its musings on identity transcend the show’s setting. That being said, the book at its current state is admittedly a tad undercooked and could use some additional fleshing out (e.g., the musical’s resolution is particularly rushed). Although the score is tinged with country and pop-rock influences, it largely sticks to the contemporary musical theater mold that courses through many a new musical. The songs are at their most effective when paired and integrated with Native drumming and dancing, which alas only occurs on occasion.

Lynn Taylor-Corbett’s direction and choreography are efficiently and cleanly executed. Like the underlying material, the production at A.R.T./New York Theatres registers on the sparser end of the spectrum and could benefit from more detail and specificity. That being said, the evocative mountain backdrop by scenic designer Regina Garcia is the epitome of simplicity and elegance. Leading the cast as the prodigal son himself is the multi-tasking Shaun Taylor-Corbett, whose thoughtful performance is the bedrock of the production. Also affecting are the simmering Jeff Barehand as his estranged father and the lovely Angela Gomez as his budding love interest. The rest of the cast is game and committed, even if some performers are stronger than others.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

DISTANT THUNDER
Off-Broadway, Musical
Amas Musical Theatre (in association with Tall Tree Productions) at A.R.T./New York Theatres
2 hours (with one intermission)
Through October 27