Closing Dec. 28

What’s That Smell?: The Music of Jacob Sterling

Closing Dec. 30

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Closing Jan 4

Grease

Young Frankenstein

Boeing Boeing

Saturn Returns

Liza’s at the Palace…

Slava’s Snowshow

13

White Christmas

Rock of Ages (transferring to Broadway)

Hairspray

Closing Jan 11

All My Sons

Gypsy

Home

Spamalot

Streamers

Closing Jan 18

Spring Awakening

Information collected from Broadway.com

Image from http://ccaggiano.typepad.com/

Rating: 3 out of 5 masks

I’ll explain the title: It’s the title of a musical by Jacob Sterling who was inspired by his visiting mother’s complaint as they walked around the city.  Here’s the thing: Neither the musical nor the composer are real.

The plot revolves around a perpetually up-and-coming musical theater composer named Jacob Sterling who performs from his repertoire for what seems like a talk show geared toward musical theater.  I think the show is called CLOT.  I forgot what the acronym stand for, and that’s probably the point.  At least I hope it is.  There were many such organizations mentioned and when they were used in the course of the show, it was hilarious.  I only wish I could remember what they were and what they stood for.

Over the course of the show you start to realize why Jacob is always close yet never able to be on Broadway.  I thought the songs were hilarious, which was intentional, yet not according to the characters themselves.  The cast is made up of Peter Bartlett who plays the host of the show fawning over his guest; David Pittu, who not only portrays Jacob Sterling but also wrote the show, its lyrics and co-directed; and three actors who act out the musical numbers while Jacob performs the music on a white piano.

Image from Variety

I liked the set, although it was a little “loud”.  I think it sort of helps set the mood for a nearly over-the-top talk/variety show about theatre, with its programs on the walls, the makeshift “stage”, the fake “applause” sounds.

I liked the intentional hilarity of the show, especially the characters’ ignorance regarding how awful Jacob’s music is.  I think it makes fun of musical theatre fans who take the genre a little too seriously, showing how they can’t look past the substance of the material.  It also makes fun of theatre in general, with organizations represented by acronyms, the source materials that shows are based on (like the title What’s That Smell).  But what I really liked about the show was that it showed the frustration of trying to get a show on Broadway.  I understood Jacob’s pain when he described a show that was so close to going on Broadway until the lead actress left for another part in another show that is still going on.  It probably happens more than you think.

I would recommend this show mostly for musical theatre fans because they’ll get more of the inside jokes.  It would make a good introduction into the world of musical theatre, but I’m not sure if anyone who’s not familiar with musical theatre would get it.

Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (no intermission)