My overall impression
I had no idea what to expect. How do you turn a classic sci-fi book and movie into a musical? From the mind of Steve Altman, that’s how and the magic from director Joshua Fardon.
Brilliantly executed, on opening night.
Yes, the set was 10? chairs and a stage, with the most bare-bones production I’ve ever seen, and, the staging and direction utilized the such minimalism forcing our imagination to fill in the gaps.
Director Fardon gets a slap on the back for really bringing out the best from the empty stage and talented cast.
Even though the disclaimer of "this is a 2 hour show, turned into a 1 hour fringe production, it worked for me, however, it was difficult to follow at times.
One would really have to know the story of the Time Machine to really follow the plot in this well sung, well acted production.. I pity the soul who doesn’t know the story as this mini-musical is so compressed it would be hard to follow for the H.G. Wells newbie.
Some of the songs were so catchy that I was humming them on the way home. My 10 year old son, as I’m writing this, is singing to himself, one of the beautiful yet haunting songs in this show, “Bring her to me”.
The vocal arrangements in some of the choral numbers made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The ‘Rap" in the middle of one number had me smiling my head off, even though I’m not a fan of that kind of music.
The love duet was beautiful, the chorus’s songs engaging, the solo’s powerful.
Steve Altman carried his character with conviction, humor, and sensitivity, and powered through the songs with the occasional mic feedback as though it wasn’t there. He is really fun to watch.
I wish there was more dialogue and less singing, but, that’s my personal opinion.
Much of the book/lyrics were clever and original, yet other bits were sophomoric and repetitive, relying on incessant rhyming with too many words that ended in “..tion.” Eg: evolution, confusion, constitution, resolution… I would like to see those lyrics raised up a notch. I think I heard the word “Universe” a few too many times, too.
All in all, I would love to see this show fully produced with real production value, a few cuts here and there, a better sound system with clearer enunciation on some of the chorus songs, and, a show that’s the full 2 hours so a H.G. Wells newbie can follow this wonderful story. I left wanting more, which is a rare experience in theatre nowadays.
