Feeling Electric

First off, Brian D'arcy James is the sh*t - amazing voice and great acting. Alice Ripley - great acting and the vestiges of a once amazing voice. Girlfriend needs to get a vocal coach. I admit she tore it up in Side Show, but her belt is not aging gracefully. Sounds like someone who pushed too hard early in the career and is now paying for it with consistently flat singing and ragged tone around the edges. She did not get through a single phrase without singing a note or portion of the phrase flat. It's really unfortunate considering her acting is so strong.

As far as the show, I have mixed feelings. The music on the whole is interesting and contemporary but some lyrics are ridiculously cliched. This perhaps wouldn't have been so evident if the lyric writing weren't so strong in certain songs ("I Miss the Mountains" and "Invisible Girl..."). It almost sounded like these songs were written by another lyricist. The story itself, the cause and effects of mental illness on the family unit, is interesting and original. It was easy to invest in and relate to these characters since their problems are so familiar to our modern day "Dr. Phil" sensibilities. The second act was particularly moving and I think most of that material within it works quite well. The first act is more problematic and is in need of judicious trimming. The Costco song, though amusing, could be cut in half. "I'm Alive" went on about three verses too long considering it seemed the only lyrics were "I'm Alive" - OK, you're alive - we get it. Quite frankly, I got bored during the tail end of some of the numbers due to their length and lyrical and thematic repetition.

The direction, too, is problematic. The constant stylistic change from realistic character interaction to presentational rock concert format didn't work for me. The presentational approach would often distance me just as I was beginning to get invested in the relationships onstage (much like Ripley's flat singing did). And did anyone else experience deja vu during the "Feeling Electric" number? Between Alice Ripley, the lighting, the music, the surgical gowns and the cheesy MTV choreography, I felt like I was watching a "cut out of town" number from the Broadway revival of Tommy.

There is definitely a moving, interesting, modern show here. But it is need of some cutting and perhaps a change in director which I doubt is going to happen before it opens next week.