Murder Ballad

Saturday, May 11th.

Everyone has their reasons for picking certain shows, and sometimes they are based purely on the people in the cast. Of the four people in the cast, I had seen three in other shows -- Will Swenson in Hair and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Caissie Levy in Hair and Ghost, and Rebecca Naomi Jones in American Idiot.

I knew nothing about the show going in, except what I learned from reading the quick blurb on the website. When I bought the tickets I was let in on the secret that the action did not take place in one location but rather throughout a playing space with some of the audience in the center.

The show was great. I had some problems with hearing words, diction issues here and there, but was able to follow the story easily. I don't always care about the plot, and for me Murder Ballad was almost like a concert -- four amazing singers coming together and rocking out. The plot was there, but I was content just to listen to them sing and interact with each other. The music was very moving and the ending was shocking. Yeah, there were plot holes here and there and some of it was odd and didn't make sense, but that didn't necessarily bother me because I liked the music so much.

My favorite musicals are gritty and uncomfortable rock operas and Murder Ballad was just that. It was 80 minutes of pure adrenaline. The story was not atypical, but the ending was surprising. If you know me and you know this show, you would for sure point to it as a show I would like. And you'd be right. I told my mother after the show that for me, this show was why I do theater. It took a typical story and contorted it into something almost unrecognizable and different and strange and thrilling. And then brought together these four singing geniuses who were clearly passionate about the work they were putting on.

I cannot wait for the cast recording to be released. It's one album I know for sure I will listen to very often.