What I liked
The monkey characters. The relationship between father and daughter. Darcy Rose Byrnes is fantastic.
What I didn't like
I think both the plot and the placement/build-up to songs felt a little off for me. It feels like a version of the show that is 95% correct but still has moments that get stuck and songs that happen because the playwright decided it was time for a song instead of happening naturally from the story.
It’s a good musical, don’t get me wrong. But I found myself being pulled out of the narrative occasionally because things felt a little rushed or unclear.
My overall impression
I think the musical overall is really interesting and different. I found the monkey characters to be a fascinating way of trying to externalize the voices we all have in our heads. All in all, I think it’s a great first version of a musical. I think it needs more shaping and fine-tuning to be fantastic but I liked what I saw.
