My overall impression
I thoroughly enjoyed Drunk Tank: The Musical. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect – would it be dark and “sobering”? sassy and silly? crude and rude? It was a little bit of all of the above and I liked it for that reason.
The strongest part of the show was the music itself (very important, for a musical). The songs were beautiful, unexpectedly deep and moving. Seriously amazing work by composers Edan Frieberger and Kyle Jackson, and beautifully sung by the whole cast, who sounded fantastic together. I particularly enjoyed the voices of writer/actor Adam Epelbaum, and actors Chanel Edwards-Frderick, and Joseph Nwoko. When Nwoko’s character, John Doe, finally bursts into song after being voiceless for most of the play, chills ran up and down my spine. A beautiful, unforgettable moment!
Overall, I found the acting significantly less strong than the singing. Some of this weakness was due to the casting, directing and acting, and some of it was due to the writing. I love writer (and actor) Adam Epelbaum’s concept for this story, and I love how he is re-claiming the form of musical theatre through the voice and style and humor of a modern generation. Major kudos to that! That being said, the dialogue itself was hit or miss for me. The humor was mostly solid, with many seriously hilarious moments that had me laughing out loud. The more serious moments in the dialogue came off as a bit phony & cheesy – which was made more noticable because the serious moments through music were so resonant and emotional. Also, none of the characters really developed enough outside of their caricatures for me, as an audience member, to find a deep level of empathy and attachment with any of them. If this show continues to develop (and I hope it does!), I’d love to see these characters shed their stereotypes to reveal more real humanity.
I thought director/producer Josiah Davis gave this production solid direction, with great energy and momentum that swept the audience along for the ride. The staging worked great in the space. I absolutely loved the choice to have the composers play live as a part of the show, dressed as guards, from behind bars (but they were OUTSIDE and we the audience were INSIDE the drunk tank). Brilliant.
Check out this show if you get the chance! It’s very much worth your time to spend an hour in the drunk tank.
