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.