What I liked
Who doesn’t like hearing that many people sing so beautifully together? The message is honorable, if not timely, and there are many shining moments where a character gets to stand out with a line of dialogue, a physical gesture or a bit of dance to brighten up your long Fringe days.
What I didn't like
Kevin does seem to have a real love for his father, wanting to follow in his footsteps. That is why it is sometimes hard not to remember his ghostly father [via a letter] asking him to keep Oscar a secret. Kevin never seems to worry the promise and there never seems to be a concern about what it would mean to let Oscar be discovered. If he had just a little bit of internal conflict beyond his need to get into that scholarship, I’d bet you would find so many colors to the work that you didn’t even know were already there. Musically, it is so gratifying to hear the gang sing that triumphant final song – but it might be more so if there was less triumph in their songs that came before that. Even the opening sequence seems to say ‘hooray!’ when the kids might have more fun sharing how dark their days are in those beats. There’s a lot of solid here to build on.
My overall impression
The cast brings all of their talents to bear at the highest level, which makes for an enjoyable exploration of geek vs. bully life in junior high school. There are some questions about the story (a father delivers a secret gift to a son who then proceeds to do everything he can to put it out there in the open) and some of the songs seem to hit the same emotional note but the show ultimately wins you over with its sheer relentless energy and there is one duet that makes everything about the experience worth it.
