I'm sitting in the garage I always dreamed of in high school. Two(ish) hot dudes, plus a nerdy drummer and base player, guitars raging, a stash of weed hidden inside a neglected toolbox and half a bottle of Jaimison that some college drop out stole from his dad's liquor cellar. For a teenage girl, the atmosphere is beyond perfect. I'm digging the scene, I feel like the luckiest (premature) hipster on the culdesac and I'm probably going to make out with one of these rockers by the end of the night. The band plays and...they're ok...not the U2 protégés I had been hoping for...but I'm still having a good time. Ok, so this song is a little cheesy...and they're not actually that great...but I'm still having a great time and these guys are cute and funny. So I think I'm going to stick around to see what happens.
Thus entailes my audience experience whilst watching Joe Iconis's latest original musical, The Black Suits. The show is fun, it has moments very reminiscent of high school, some that are very moving and honest, some great comedic timing and super cool set design...but I wasn't sold on the package in its intirety. While the musical had its moments, I was not totally in love with the music like I hoped I would be. I am SO HAPPY that CTG took the chance on an original content musical (I am prone to vomiting at movie to musical adaptations these days), but I didn't find the music itself especially original. To give you an idea, the style is a little bit like Spring Awakening meets Next to Normal meets SMASH which is not surprising considering that the smash (haha) hit TV show is Iconis's musical baby. And actually, just combine the concepts behind of all those shows to get the plot of this play. Teenagers with emotional issues, struggle to fame, angst: yes, they're timeless but at the same time...what else is new? None of the songs really stuck with me, unfortunately. And I like it when I leave the building whistling a song or two.
The cast has its ups and downs. The boys have a great dynamic as an ensemble. They're all great singers and they seem to have a lot of fun together. Sometimes they got a little wiggly in their teenage moments of immaculate solo glory. The women have their high and low points. I had moments when I wished for a little more Joan Jet and a little less Cinderella in the female lead, Lisa. Then we also raise the question of why the female characters are the supporters, the cheerleaders so to speak for the men, for the boys' band, but honestly that's not where my biggest concerns lie with this production. I didn't enjoy any of the three female ballads: ultra clichè.
I'm not ripping on this show, completely. I laughed often and I was touched by moments of teenage bliss and torture. I invited friends. I rocked out a little. Do I think it has a life on Broadway...maybe for the market...maybe to sell out...but I'm not totally impressed. Dont miss it, but it's also ok if you do. In other words, it was fun while it lasted.
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The Black Suits runs at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, CA from October 17th through November 24th. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or through centertheatregroup.org.
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