The Haunted Train

I went to see this show because my roommate was the music director/the band -- I say "the band" because there was only a piano. First of all, I'd never been to Theater For A New City on the Lower East Side before. It was... not the nicest space ever. There are a bunch of theaters in the building, and "The Haunted Train" was in a small basement theater. I guess you could call the theater a black box since it's literally a room made of cinder blocks that is painted black. The theater space itself was perfect for this particular show.

There were two moments of this new musical that were so preachy I wanted to get up and walk out. A show about mental illness is bound to have preachy moments, and "The Haunted Train" was no exception. Let's start a revolution so patients locked up in psych wards aren't taken advantage of! Here here! Interestingly enough, the few times the script was weakest were the times the music died down the most.

The songs were the most entertaining part of the show -- partly because the voices of the five actors were incredible. We all know it takes an amazing voice to get me really into a musical. The main character, Cloyd, played by Jarrad Biron Green was just a total delight to watch and listen to. Everyone else sang beautifully, but Green could act and sing (often at the same time).

Overall, I was impressed by this musical. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the worst thing I've seen in the last few weeks by far. Did it feel a bit like a rip-off of "Next to Normal" once in a while? Yes. But it was original enough that I wasn't totally bothered by the last song ending on the word "light" a la the finale of N2N (okay fine, that one ends on "dark" but you know what I mean). My biggest problem was the length -- 100 minutes with no intermission. Cut out the two preachy parts and it would've cut down the show and been a much more reasonable length. But having no intermission in a musical that deals with mental health and being locked up was very smart, as it gave off an air of danger. While it was obvious you weren't locked in and unable to get out during the duration of the piece (we were told we could get out if necessary through a VERY loud door), once the lights went out it was clear you were supposed to feel as though you were in the hospital right along with Cloyd.

I was told by someone I went to college with who happened to see the show the night before I did that a giant rat scurried across the stage at one point... did I mention the theater itself was janky?