|
Toy Soldiers
Book, Lyrics and Music by J. Sebastian Fabal
Directed by Jeremy Henry
Produced by Towards A Poor Theatre Company
At the Viaduct Theatre
3111 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
Call 866-811-4111, tickets $15
Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm
Sundays at 3:30 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 20 minutes with intermission
Through March 4, 2007
Dull, poorly sung war musical drones for two hours
The initial offering from the newly formed theatre company, Towards A Poor Theatre, Toy Soldiers, falls flat in every category. From the bland atonal pop-rockish score to the weak staging completely without any scene transitions to the collection of miscast performers, the show makes for a long, boring evening. Toy Soldiers becomes more like tin soldiers after hearing so many poor singers. The production values of this show run somewhere between a junior high production and a fledging community theatre effort.
J. Sebastian Fabal has penned the book, lyrics and music for this tepid affair. The story line is a meek collection of stereotypical clichés. The lyrics are banal and instantly forgettable while the music has a hollow sameness that drones onward. This show is so amateurish that it has no heart, no charm and nothing interesting or dramatic to say. Why this theatre company launched this show is a mystery? Who thought this mess is stage worthy? Most of the songs have a dull sameness both in sound and mood rendering them repetitious and bland.
The show doesn’t have a center—its not anti-war enough nor satirical nor campy. Much of the tone is contradictory—on the one hand, it is an ode to soldiers and on the other it is anti-war. The wooden characters defy believability: the liberal political ant-war activist is, himself, a violent person who assaults a soldier’s family.
The songs tell a meaningless story lacking in cohesion and dramatic form. But, by far, the weakest part of the show is the cast. Aside form Eric Martin and Autumn Shepherd, the cast is filled with weak-voiced performers who not only can’t sing, but the are so lacking in vocal projection that the piano drowned several out. The leads, Robert Deason (Sam) and Kelly Klein (Deborah) were amazingly miscast. Neither can sing a lick and neither can project enough to be heard at times. Why Eric Martin wasn’t cast as Sam, the soldier is another mystery?
Kristen Lendyke, as Gracie, sang so softly that she was almost inaudible. The harmonies from the 2-3-4 part numbers fell flat as did the vain attempt at sadness when Sam gets killed in Iraq. Since we never care about him, we could care less what happens to him. This show has a weak message and a hollow ring with a coldness typified by a line from Gracie: “I don’t care who dies as long as its not my brother.” Toy Soldier is a innocuous, heartless collection of less than mediocre tunes that has nothing pertinent to say and is mounted in a tediously amateur production.
If I seem harsh, I’m only reporting on what I saw. No one tries to be kinder to a show that me. However, sometimes I have to “fall on the sword” for my loyal readers. This show made me bleed.
Not Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2007
|
