David Does Not Prove Fodder for Musical Treatment
David In Shadow And Light at Theater J
Theater J's David In Shadow And Light seems to want to be a lot of things at once. Profound meditation on an epic character. Unusual amalgam of world music sounds and atonal themes. Pop-culture savvy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat-esque musical referencing the WWE in the same breath as scripture. Postmodern, "in-on-the-joke" type of piece that directly addresses the audience and weaves the future with past.
Theater J's latest is nothing if not ambitious, but the work ends up completely lacking in any consistent tone - and the show isn't particularly adept at achieving any of its competing goals. The result is a nearly three-hour, exhausting work that has moments of insight, but too often feels cringe-worthy.
The David we're talking about here is the biblical one, who beats Goliath, becomes King, and whose downfall comes from being tempted by another man's wife bathing in the moonlight. But this production, directed by Nick Olcott and written by Yehuda Hyman, isn't satisfied to tell only David's story - it views it through the eyes of the original Adam and archangel Metatron, who are watching a film of David's life, and this only muddles things further. David is played by two actors - Matt Pearson in his younger years, and Bobby Smith as he matures (Smith has the dual role of Saul, David's de facto father who relinquishes his crown to David, which helps the work come full circle).
There are plenty of songs in David In Shadow And Light, but just about the only line that stays with you is a bizarre, "Tra la la la la David" refrain uttered by Goliath throughout the show. Daniel Hoffman's melodies are sometimes jarringly discordant - it's almost like he's struggling for the musical phrases to sound unpredictable, without much regard for the ultimate result. The work's choreography is enthusiastic, but randomly dispersed - a slinky dance between David and Batsheva is a show highlight, while contortions from the occasionally-appearing, black-clad chorus can appear jarringly out of nowhere, jovial when the plot proceedings are not.
Pearson is sincere enough as our leading man, but his voice often tends towards the nasal, and he's too blank faced to command constant attention. Will Gartshore has the most arresting voice of the male characters, and ingests much energy into the role of Jonathan, David's beloved, but it's hard to get passed the ridiculous, Goth-influenced teen getup he dons as Asbalom later in the show. Smith's performance as the more corrupted David helps makes the second act more interesting (the show settles a bit, too, not trying so hard to grab our attention), but his Saul needs to be reigned in. The women in the cast do what they can with thinly developed roles.
And then there's Russel Sunday as Goliath. It seems likely Sunday was directed to make a bad pun on the WWE's "Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?" catchphrase as he takes the floor as a spike-studded, leather-clad Goliath. But unwelcome wrestling puns in a show that clearly takes itself seriously contribute to what can best describe David's overall feel - awkward.
David In Shadow And Light runs through June 22 at Theater J. Tickets are available online