Todays Topic (OBM) Off-Broadway Monday. Revolution in the Elbow Ragnar Agnarsson Furniture Painter Crazy titles always do it for me,. And its easy to feel bewildered by a title that sounds as if it is translated from the Icelandic. But as it turns out, the dialogue and the lyrics sound that way as well. “Revolution in the Elbow etc.” is a bizarre enough new musical to be mistaken for an entry in the Fringe festival, except that no Fringe show has such an expensive set, nor such Tony-level talent, thanks to the more than a million dollars that has been invested in this world premiere production at the Minetta Lane. Many levels to consider, The first level is the cellular. At the start of the musical, we see a projection of a hairy middle-aged man – presumably this is Ragnar Agnarsson – before the projection zooms in on his elbow, and we are introduced to the miniscule characters who inhabit Elbowville. We’ve seen something similar in the 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage, or Honey I Shrunk The Kids, or, more closely , the 2011 Fringe musical “Yeast Nation,” by the creators of “Urinetown,” whose dystopian vision of society has its echoes in this show. Secondly, the parable part, and it’s a bit of a muddle, although there is a rousing tap dance number in which the townsfolk are celebrating the easy money.The third level is the production itself. The lyrics are unremarkable at best. But there is a driving rock score performed by a fine on-stage band (which has been named Revolution Cellular Orchestra.) The show is thick with talent. Mark my words: We will be hearing from Marrick Smith again. But the entire cast rises above the material. Choreographer Lee Proud has something to be proud of (I’ve been infected by the cheap puns in the show.) Petr Hlousek deserves kudos for his set and state-of-the-art projection design, especially when he shows the giant Ragnar Agnarsson belching, and picking at his teeth, and scratching at Elbowville.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 13:20:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015