Playwright: Dan Lipton and David Rossmer
At: Equity Library Theatre at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago
Phone: 312-642-6240; $10-$20
Runs through: Aug. 12
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
If you haven't already had enough of self-mocking musicals, Equity Library Theatre's Joe! The Musical is for you.
We've had quite a spate of post-modern musicals that simultaneously trash and adore the artificiality of breaking into song and dance at the drop of a hat. Shows along the lines of The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Urinetown—The Musical and The Musical of Musicals—The Musical! are each masters of sending up musical theater conventions while showing genuine affection throughout.
Joe! The Musical is not in their league just yet, but there is plenty of potential if Dan Lipton and David Rossmer's collaboration goes through more refining and polish.
The show involves an out-of-work former child star named Joe ( Mike Mahler on opening weekend ) who wants to be a serious theater actor. Problem is that all the jobs available are in musicals—which Joe hates.
At the urging of his mother/agent ( Nancy Jane Nelson ) , Joe attends a disastrous musical theater master class led by Joe's former child-star rival, Noah ( David Meadows ) . Yet something good comes out of it when Joe befriends aspiring actress Laura ( Dana Cameron ) .
Then, through some strange occurrence not fully explained, Joe's life is transformed into a peppy musical—much to his own aggravation. Joe refuses to take part and is almost replaced by his conniving understudy ( who looks like Noah ) .
Yet Joe learns to fight back and all ends happily in stereotypical musical theater fashion. Lipton and Rossmer hilariously know what to target—from the de rigeur heroine's generic wanting song ( called Leading Man here ) to the obnoxious matinee ladies from New Jersey and Long Island ( a cutting turn by Nelson and Beth Jacoby ) who regularly and loudly attend musicals.
The opening non-musical scenes could be improved upon to make them more real. Right now, the switch to musical-theater world doesn't have enough contrast. Also, better and catchier tunes along the lines of the torch song Sweet as Candy and the atmosphere-establishing number Like Rita Says would be appreciated.
Joe! The Musical also seems to be slightly beyond the limited resources of Equity Library Theatre's producing capabilities. The opening-night performance was filled with minor glitches, from actors flubbing lyrics to the Norton anti-virus renewal pop-up window appearing on the computer projection scenery.
The largely Equity cast assembled for this enterprise were hit-and-miss, with some fully embodying the wacky material ( especially Brian Damson in the ensemble with his elastic expressions ) while others merely handed in what was necessary. Director/choreographer Tom Mullen excels in the musical numbers, but less so with the serious dialogue.
Fans of spoofing musicals should get a kick out of Joe! The Musical, even in its imperfect state. Joe! has a lot of funny potential, but it's still not fully realized.