The other night I went to the theater in Glens Falls and a rock concert kept interrupting the play. To be clear, the music interrupted the drama it did not intrude on it. But to be blurry, neither did it always enhance the story.
Though ”Spun” has been produced before it is clearly still a work in progress. I left the Wood Theatre on opening night thrilled with certain aspects of the show but feeling incomplete. “Spun” has a lot of good working parts but it is not yet a totally satisfying theatrical experience.
“Spun,” which is subtitled “A Brother/Sister Rock Musical,” is at Adirondack Theatre Festival through Saturday. It’s an attempt to incorporate a rock score into the telling of a story about a set of estranged twenty-something siblings. The conceit is fine, and when you have two strong talents, as does the production at Adirondack Theatre Festival, the potential for entertainment is quite high.
The performances are great. Brook Wood as Molly is a phenomenal talent who belts out a song with power and a voice to kill for. She has a great sense of comedic timing and is brave as well. She damaged her leg in rehearsal and performed in a full leg brace that should limit her energetic performance, but doesn’t. Maximilian Sangerman is also an excellent performer who has the burden of making Jesse, a man who whines about the bad decisions he’s made throughout his life, seem a man worthy of redemption.
The support band is super. Led by Jeremy Schonfeld (who composed the score) on piano, with Chris Reed, Jr. on drums, Max Garrett on bass and Michael Wilson - this is a combo worth paying to see in concert.
Indeed, that is what you do when you buy a ticket to “Spun.” Actually, part of the shows problems have to do with the production being too concert-like as most of the songs are sung directly to the audience. This is fine as some numbers are intended to recreate the performers in a concert setting. Others exist to express or heighten an emotion or remembrance. But eventually it is a distracting device as the style isolates the emotions of the moment and disconnects the characters from each other.
More distracting (in a theatrical sense) is that after many songs the story restarts at the point where the dialogue stopped before the song. The musical moment fails to move the story either emotionally or expositionally.
But on the positive side there are lovely moments like “Mother Blue,” where a song makes an emotional connection between the characters. “God Give Me” is another honest gentle moment. As for excitement, “Burning it Down” is a dubious finale but it does get the cheering audience on its feet. And “Spun” is a song that touchingly and effectively sums up the purpose of the play.
Though the musical numbers are usually fun they don’t always add to the story and do extend the length of the show. Almost two and a half hours is a long time to tell a story about which there are few surprises. Showing the same scene from individual perspectives is a legitimate device, but book writer Emily Goodson goes to that well a little too often. Too, it’s difficult to accept an ending as being happy when the pair considers that a solution to their problems is arson.
Nonetheless, there is a lot to enjoy in “Spun.” The music is often exciting and at other times lovely. The story about a brother and sister reconciling and freeing them from a shared guilt is rich with potential. It needs tightening, and most important, the audience needs a reason to care about the characters.
“Spun” at Adirondack Theatre Festival, the Wood Theater, Glens Falls. Through Saturday. 518-480-4878, atfestival.org
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