YEAST NATION (the triumph of life): Musical Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis; Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann. Directed by Jason Hoover. Ray of Light Theatre, Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St. (at Mission), San Francisco, CA, 415-863-7576 or www.rayoflighttheatre.com or www.victoriatheatre.org.
October 3 – November 1, 2014.
YEAST NATION (the triumph of life) is mired in primordial muck. [Rating:2]
This past summer Ray of Light Musical Theatre earned a standing ovation with a brilliant production of Triassic Parq. It was 90 minutes of pure anthropomorphic fun that received a well-deserved standing ovation. Anthropomorphic? Yes, since all the “characters” were dinosaurs given human characteristics. There is no such word for unicellular “characters” given human traits so the audience has to be content with the single cell yeast ‘people’ who populate the world of year 3,000,458,000 B.C., talk like humans and have traits we recognize as human. There was a delayed standing ovation for Yeast Nation (the triumph of life) but it was not totally earned.
The play is the brain child of Greg Kotis and Mark Hollman who created the very successful Urinetown: The Musical a satirical comedy that has earned cult status. Their latest musical satire Yeast Nation may still reach cult status but not in its present form. It certainly is not for the lady from Dubuque. This is the West Coast premiere that began 20 years ago with runs in Alaska, Chicago and the fringe in New York with mixed reviews.
The authors have conceived of single cell yeasts living in the depth of the ocean that have a tyrannical king, a food shortage (salt) and an alien emotion called love. You know that when love rears its beautiful/ugly head trouble is afoot. There is a semi-revolt by the Kings oldest son who ventures out and tastes of the primordial muck that is origin of multi-cellular organisms and eventually mankind. The relationships are as complicated as the storyline that is expressed in loud rock music that never lets up for the entire first act that lasts for 60 minutes. To be fair to Ray of Lights’ production, the second act almost salvages the evening with lovely change of pace in the music and lyrics that almost make the evening worthwhile.
What are worthwhile are the marvelous voices of the cast. Alto Heather Orth as Jan-the–Unnamed the narrator is a joy to hear adding to her accolades from last season’s Carrie. Danny Cozart expressive baritone as the Elder is perfect for the role of tyrant. Mischa Stephen’s tenor voice carries most of songs and he dominates the stage in his turn to shine. Unfortunately the character names and the songs they sing are not clearly defined and this reviewer is not able to accredit each accurately.
Jason Hoover’s direction is not up to his usual great standards and Dane Paul Andres’ choreography is rudimentary but that may be appropriate for the beginning of life forms. Running time 2 hours with an intermission.
CAST: (Alphabetically) Teresa Attridge (Jan-the-Sly); Joshua Beld (Chorus 1); Melinda Campero (Ensemble); Jesse Cortez (Chorus 6; Danny Cozart (Jan-the-Elder); Roy Eikleberry (Jan-the-Wretched/Ensemble); David Glazer (Jan-the-Youngest); Celia Jones (Chorus 4); Mary Kalita (The New One/Ensemble); Juliana Lustenader (Jan-the-Famished); Courtney Merrell (Jan-the-Sweet); Lizzie Moss (Chorus 5); Heather Orth (Jan-the-Unnamed); Kevin Singer (Jan-the-Second-Oldest); Lindsay Stark (Ensemble); Mischa Stephens (Jan-the-Wise); Aaron Vanderbeek (Ensemble); Vanessa Vazquez (Chorus 2); Ted Zoldan (Chorus 3).
PRODUCTION TEAM: Jason Hoover, Director; Ben Prince, Music Director; Dane Paul Andres, Choreographer; Amanda Lee Angott, Costume Designer; Daniel Cadigan, Technical Director; Joe D’Emilio, Lighting Designer; Laraine Gurke, Stage Manager; Anton Hedman,
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
