Pilgrim is an entertaining but unusual event. It is a rock musical by John Stothers, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics. Performances will run at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood until April 9th. The characters seem to come from a medieval sector of the world of Mad Max. There is a social class conflict between "crafters," who make things, and "guildmasters," who rule a town with no name. The crafters are well played such fine actors as Lowe Taylor, who recently appeared in I Come for Love at ANMT. Their costumes make the crafters look like workers at a Renaissance Faire, except with MTV-type variations in the costumes, like dreadlocks and a bare-chested tinker. The guildmasters wear long black leather outfits that may have been worn by the sadistic demons from the Hellraiser movies. The tinker, played by Tom Korbee, is the hero of the story. There are some interesting bits between him and Anna, a guildmaster's daughter, played by Jessica Rush. She marries him to avoid marrying Metsys, a guildmaster played by Jeffrey Stackhouse. The love triangle and the love story are the most satisfying stories in the play. A political drama runs through the plot, beginning when the tinker is put in prison and meets a mysterious madman named Hieronymus, played by Robert Patteri. He gives the tinker obscure clues in Latin to help him complete his quest.
The rock concert sensibilities of the show spawn some of the most interesting and entertaining aspects of the show, but also the most puzzling. The music is an effective fusion of standard rock sounds with musical theatre. It's as if some head bangers from the 80's grew up and put some intelligence into writing a rock opera. The result is lyrical or dramatic melodies over power chords and a script that mostly makes sense. After that, the choices become curious. The world of the play occurs in a deliberately non-specific medieval town, but the culture of that world seems to come out of specific developments, like the establishment of the power of trade guilds in late Medieval Europe. The effect leaves you feeling that this world lacks grounding. If John Stothers had drawn a more detailed picture of his guild culture, by describing what kinds of guilds these are, for example, it wouldn't have been quite so disorienting. By leaving out such details, Stothers seems to be relying on the power of ignorance to mystify and enthrall. That works well for illiterate adults or teenage boys hooked on their Playstations, but it might not be enough for many adult theatregoers. The word "pilgrim," for example, makes you think that the tinker will go on a religious journey, but the "pilgrimage" of his dreams makes no reference to anything that would make the journey in his dreams anything that specific or special. If the town had a name, like the name of the town in Urinetown, the world of the play would have a stronger anchor, but as it is, it contributes to the feeling of this world, and Stothers intentions, being in limbo. The clues in the tinker's quest are Latin words like "despero." Hieronymus explains what they mean, but theatre is about showing, not explaining. It would have been clearer if the tinker had met an allegorical character named Despero in his dream who helped him get through a specific step in his journey, like Virgil helping Dante through The Inferno. Still, I would recommend this show for most adults who enjoy theatre, just so they can see the fascinating work of the designers and performers. The acrobatics of the Myo Dance Company offer intriguing new possibilities for the potential of using dance and acrobatics for storytelling. For example, in one of the many dream scenes, an acrobat dangles from a red scarf for a moment, seemingly in a moment of ecstasy, and then falls into a flaming pit. It seems to depict Anna's emotional turmoil, as if she were going from heaven to hell, but the reference is generic enough to refer to anyone enduring hardship. If the effect had added new information by telling something about the story from the point of view of a dream, it might have achieved significance, but as it is, it's just a fun idea to watch. Still, the fact that the spectacle comes this much closer to telling the story in a new way is an achievement which ranks above whatever storytelling you might think happens at a Cirque du Soleil show.
The tragic ending of Pilgrim doesn't quite payoff. It depends on sympathy for the poor crafters which is not possible, given the lack of detail which would help the audience empathize with the crafter society. This is another area where Stothers seems to have left the writing unfinished. Still, this show is worth seeing. There's a guy on stilts who seems to represent someone, I'm not sure who, but he does some cool things. The music is entertaining, though the only memorable song is a love ballad called "Iron and Silver." All of the performers are excellent. The costumes, lighting and sets have a great rock show feel. The set is a scaffold with catwalks reminiscent of the set for Rent, except that it has a wooden wheel on it to make it look medieval and the whole thing spins on a turntable. It's interesting at first, but by the second act, the scaffold becomes tiresome, as if it were a frame for something that you never get to see built to completion. This is an entertaining show for everyone other than octogenarians who hate rock 'n' roll. High school kids will especially love this show, even if the second act isn't as intense as the first. The creators should publish the show specifically for the kids to perform at their schools. They'll make a mint if they do. Spread the word to your local high school: The next step in the evolution of the rock musical is here!
No comments:
Post a Comment