You have to wonder sometimes how theatres choose which shows to present. The Vineyard Theatre has an odd record of musicals, with "Avenue Q" and "[title of show]" being big hits (although "[title of show]" was already acclaimed from its previous runs, and "Avenue Q," if I recall already had great buzz from previous readings and from presentations of pieces of the show), and "Miracle Brothers" (the show about dolphins) being one of the worst musicals of that season. Well, their latest foray into musical theatre is "The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, or the Friends of Dr. Rushower." And let me just say, the show absolutely lives up to its dreadful title. This is just one of those shows that makes you shake your head in disbelief and wonder who could possibly have thought this was any good. Though the material is a big pile of sludge, there is one positive aspect of the production - the sets are fabulous. The libretto is based on a comic book/graphic novel, and so they project sometime animated, sometimes still, pieces of the artist's work on the back wall, and on two side panels. And so, like "Persepolis" (though the movie's script wasn't nearly as awful as this), it's a joy to watch the scene changes. And they even came up with cool uses, like actually having the projected drawing of the elevator door open and close. Also enjoyable is the drummer, who seemed to be having a much better time than I was. In fact, I was so bored near the end of the second act, that I just stopped paying attention to the actors, and just watched the drummer enthusiastically drum away. I was in the first row and he was right in my line of sight, so it was perfect. If only I had thought to watch him sooner, maybe I would have liked the show even more.
The absurd and pretty much incomprehensible is as follows: Most appliances (phones, blenders, toasters) have lead slugs in them that give them added weight to them so they feel more hefty and expensive. So the people of Kayrol aisle make these slugs, and in exchange are paid with some sort of date leaves. They are also slowly becoming asexual, only enjoying calling women up on the phone, though not so much interested in intercourse. So Dr. Rushower, I think, has something to do with the production of the slugs, though I'm not sure. He also has a daughter who's having trouble finding a husband. Then there's a man who thinks appliance instruction manuals are the highest form of poetry. So, he ends up meeting Dr. Rushower and his daughter, and the two of them eventually decide to go to Kayrol to bring this great appliance manual poetry to the residents. They are specifically told not to eat any food on the island or to drink "Kayrol Cola" (which is supposedly just dirty water and codeine). Well, that's the first act. The second act takes place mostly on the island, and if the first act was somewhat amusing if only when listening to the character played by the charming Bobby Steggert read his bizarre poetry, the second act, which I won't describe is totally dull, and makes even less sense than the first - especially because it ties up almost nothing in the end. We never what's causing all of the sexual mayhem with the Kayrol inhabitants, we never learn what is so dangerous about Kayrol food and drink, and Emmanual (the Steggert character) ends up pretty much where he started, making his character basically almost totally pointless and excisable.
The music - a sort of jazzy light rock score - is fine at the beginning, but eventually all of the songs just blended together and I couldn't really tell one from the other. The most enjoyable music is the play out music after the show has ended - and not just because the show was finally over - it made very nice relaxing background music, once the lyrics were removed.
I will say that I'm sort of curious to seek out the comic book that the show was based on, or maybe another one by the same artist, because I was very intrigued by the art, and because I'm hoping that the plot makes more sense in its original form.
One thing I gleaned from the show is that I should stay away from Kayrol Island (the place). I suggest you heed the musical's advice and also stay away (both from the place AND the musical).
