Nothing Bad: A Werewolf Rock Musical

What I liked

Beautiful Harmonies, catchy songs, funny characters,

What I didn't like

The halfhazard handling of rape and how it was woven through a thread of characters unlocking a sexual desire to be taken aggressively. Distasteful and lacking awareness.

My overall impression

major red flags and lack of skill with the handling of the topic of rape… very disappointing.

The music is catchy and fun- a few of the songs were delightful enough that it’d be exciting to hear them again and get to sing along— the opening Few minutes give us a nice setup of the show and the idea of a town where Nothing Bad happens is just a fun and engaging idea to work with! Strong cast with great vocals and awesome harmonies. The tracks need to be quieter so the actors can be heard.

The show invites audiences into an ongoing conversation about desire, often taking us on a journey where sexual desire is explored- particularly desire for something aggressive.

And this is where it gets problematic… the B plot line of the show is a rape in this town where Nothing Bad happens- it’s a good start – it could have been an unexpectedly poignant thing – I was patient about it…. I kept waiting for something to be handled right, because of course rape is one of those subjects to be handled sensitively and skillfully, but the situation seemed to miss the mark further and further as time went on. From the “I want” or rather the “I don’t want” song sung by a cheerleader while being raped, to the summer nights style duet where she sings with her rapist- though she admonishes him appropriately in the song and throughout the play, the handling of the subject matter was beyond problematic in so many ways. This isn’t a trigger alert- its not that kind of issue – this felt like a lack of experience in handling this subject matter. The topic of rape seemed to live in a no-mans-land where it didn’t know what kind of show it was in – perhaps it could have been approached in a bigger campier way, or in an extra sincere way, but instead it came off as offensive and ignorant, especially when you intertwine the rape plot line with the constant reference to a desire to be overpowered sexually, which is not only a completely different thing, but are two things I’d personally not line up next to one another onstage…

There was a brief semi-redemption on this during a very funny song about sweeping things under the rug, but that self-aware moment was not enough, in my opinion. I left angry and disgruntled about that, which is a shame because otherwise there are a lot of fun musical moments.