This rock opera follows a lab technician who’s developing a new psychiatric treatment. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)

Release: White Savior Complex meets Grey’s Anatomy, with some sick guitar riffs.

Flop, Fine or Fringe-tastic: Flop.

I wanted to like this. It has an intriguing premise: a rock opera pillorying the avarice of the modern medical establishment. The story, written and directed by Steve Organ, follows a lab technician named Amy Ryan who has recently returned from Kabul, where she was tending to wounded soldiers. She’s trying to develop a new psychiatric treatment at a Wyoming clinic based on insights she gained abroad, through unapproved experiments on a patient named Patrick. Ryan’s work is first vilified — then plagiarized — by her boss Dr. Sharon Hendricks, and Ryan must fight to prove it’s her own.

This play could have carried real gravitas, pointing out how patients are treated more as “cases” and billing statements than as actual people. Unfortunately, instead of delivering any pointed or even intelligible messages, there’s only a tangled storyline dotted with uncomfortable whiffs of white saviorism. Ryan’s interactions with her patients are described as “releasing” and “saving” them, but the show avoids critiquing that problematic language. (My discomfort was heightened by the fact that the actress who plays Ryan appears white, while both patients are men of color.) Patrick is supposed to be a central figure but we learn so little about his backstory and present condition that it’s difficult to become emotionally involved in his fate. Finally, the song lyrics often muddied the story as much as they advanced it and there’s a gaping plot hole: A climactic scene hinges upon Dr. Hendricks not knowing the patient Patrick’s name, which she could have easily looked up.

The cast played their roles with heart, and this production has real potential if they make some tweaks. Everyone has a lovely voice. Onstage costume changes add a winking, collaborative vibe and the music is soulful, even if the lyrics confound at times. If you’re looking for a conceptual rock concert and don’t mind it interrupted by a convoluted and problematic storyline, this might be a production you enjoy.

Where to See It: Gallaudet University on July 19 at 8:30 p.m., July 22 at 9:45 p.m., and July 23 at 4:30 p.m. Buy tickets here.

See here for all of DCist’s 2017 Capital Fringe coverage. All shows are $17, with a button ($7) required for entry.