film noir? meet christopher durang.

so, here's what's happening at 59E59 theaters. christopher durang and his right-hand music man, peter melnick, are trying too hard. that's not to say that adrift in macao is not a hilarious romp -- it is. it's to say that the actors weren't good -- they were. durang and melnick just simply tried too hard. they admit in their liner notes that this project was originally designed as a 20 minute one act play/musical. i wonder if would have been more effective in that shortened form. sure, we would have lost some of the hilarious moments, but a meager one hour and thirty minutes, something just felt off.

regardless, the show is hilarious. when it comes from the mouth of christopher durang (betty's summer vacation, the marriage of bette and boo, baby with the bathwater, beyond therapy, et al) we should not expect any less. durang basically picked up a manual called "how to write a film noir script", and took each and every recommendation. the show is a hilarious parody of a delightful genre of film, which in these days of reality tv and 24, is hardly used.

the cast of five, with support from an ensemble of 2, are stellar. rachel de benedet has, in my opinion, the best song of the show: her exit song, "so long." everything in the show up until that point was funny and cheeky and then suddenly she lets these notes rip from seemingly nowhere. michele ragusa is the most comfortable with the schtick and the comedy, and her hilarious 10 second moment of judy garland/liza minelli (look out for it) will kill you. will swenson as rick shaw (say it out loud) and alan campbell (tony nominated for sunset boulevard -- hence glenn close in attendance) as mitch make for two very able-bodied noir men. orville mendoza as tempura is very funny, but the audience didn't seem to catch on to him until it was too late. (read: fishnets).

certainly a suitable off-broadway musical and a great time. this show could have a long life in stock, regional and university shows if done correctly. with it's small cast and simple set locations, it seems like it's already primed and ready. especiallly with the sing-a-long.
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adrift in macao
book and lyrics by christopher durang
music by peter melnick
starring will swenson, orville mendoza, michele ragusa,
alan campbell and rachel de benedet