Support the Kids

Last month in New York I had the privilege of seeing composer Jason Robert Brown in concert at Birdland. Several of the songs he performed came from "Songs for a New World," something that is called a musical, but is really more of a song cycle, loosely based around the idea of discovery: of one's heart, of others' secret motives, even the discovery that Mrs. Claus has some serious issues with her jolly husband. (In the delightful "Surabaya Santa," a Weill-esqe lament of the lady left behind.)

Brown's show is currently being staged at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco by Ray of Light Theatre, a local production group. Although I have nits to pick with the show, overall it's well worth your time. There are some terrific songs in here, and the ticket price is low, so it's hard to go very wrong. My nits? The girls are stronger than the boys in terms of singing, and the band seems a bit clunky and heavy-handed in their playing. And the lighting design is almost non-existent.

On the positive side, Jessica Coker is delightful, a zaftig belter with a tremendous sense of comic timing. (It helps that she has two of the best, funniest songs, the aforementioned "Surabaya Santa" and "One More Step," an acid little number featuring a woman on a ledge, threatening to jump just to spite her cheapskate husband who won't come through with the fur she desires.) Lindsay Hirata has a lovely tone, expressive and emotional. Plus, she can act. (There is no dialogue in the show really, but her physical scenes, especially with Robert Lopez, are wonderful.)

Of the two men, Lopez is much weaker vocally than his stagemate DaRon Lamar Williams. Williams has a big voice (Lopez is certainly on pitch and in time, but his sound is thin and insubstantial, especially in his upper register) and isn't afraid to use it. Problem is, he seems to return to the same gospel-tinged inflections over and over.

I'm not going to criticize the score itself, but I will say it's a rather odd little show. It sounds like a collection of pretty good songs intended for some other show. "I'm Not Afraid of Anything" seems like it was pulled directly from "Little Women," or could be intended for any number of spunky Nellie Forbush-type characters.

Bottom line -- go to the Eureka Theater and support a group of young people who are working hard to create an entertaining evening, and mostly succeeding.