"A Walk on the Moon" at ACT

ACT photo by Alessandra Mello

ACT has a rather mixed record with musicals. I would definitely not call it one of their strengths. Nonetheless, they persist in producing new musical works, so as a subscriber, I get to see them. And I rather like a good musical. A Walk on the Moon was not a good musical, and I did not like it.

To be fair, we all departed at the intermission. It was a unanimous decision. We discussed whether there was any reason to stay, and concluded there was not. So, I suppose in fairness I should say that it's possible the second act is so good that it makes it worth sitting through the dismal first act, but I sincerely doubt it.

The Play

Apparently this is an adaptation of a movie. I did not see the movie, so I can't comment on the adaptation. All I can talk about is the play. It's set at a Jewish summer camp in July, 1969. A group of families have made their annual trek to the camp from Brooklyn to the Catskills, with the working husbands commuting on weekends and the rest of the families staying in bungalows. There are certainly aspects of this I can relate to, so there's a setting for a play.

And then, very little happens. Which, I can attest, seems very likely in a resort setting. That's kind of the point of it all. In Act I the campers do a little dancing and singing about arriving at summer camp. Kids meet new friends. Teens express frustration with, well, everything. Some even sing about it. The blouse man arrives to sell (yes) blouses.

Playwright Pamela Gray adapted this script from her first screenplay that eventually got produced as a movie, all based on her childhood memories. I hope the original is more lively than the musical.

We get a little bit of subdued teen angst and some nascent middle-age feminism from a bored housewife. The voices are pretty good,  but Paul Scott Goodman's songs just aren't compelling. They're pretty cliched and repetitive. Nothing you're going to leave humming.

We are supposed to get a little sparkle of excitement from a little flirtation between housewife Pearl and the blouse man, Walker. They later have a little fling during the moon landing, while everyone else is watching television (and Pearl's husband has been conveniently detained at home by his TV repair job). But there is never a sense of actual excitement or risk, or really even of attraction.

The Production

I suppose the fact that the program has an inserted page with updated song listings suggests that this world premiere is still very much a work in progress, so perhaps I should be more forgiving. But I didn't pay to see a workshop. This is billed as a full production, but it doesn't feel like it.

First, it's terribly static. Bungalows don't move, and frankly the people don't move much, either. There is not much action in watching a group of women play mahjong. So the director has the table rotate sometimes, which is just weird, and seems only to emphasize how dull and motionless the scene really is. It might be a fine scene in a novel, propelled by sparkling banter, but the lifeless song is not revived by the turning of the table.

Similarly, when rebellious teen Allison (Brigid O'Brien) (and you know she's rebellious because she scowls all the time, except when she's swooning over guitar-player Ross (Nick Sacks)) sings about how she's frustrated and wants to go do things, her vehemence is demonstrated by her standing up. And raising her arms. So clearly, she's going places.

Forgive the snark, but really, director Sheryl Kaller and choreographer Josh Prince need to get some actual motion into the characters. Two kids sitting on a picnic table rapping about how bored they are and how they'd really like to go to Woodstock (or at least the movies) is realistic, but it's not theatrical, and it's not interesting to watch.

And for all the effort they seem to have put into building a fancy set, some of it seems terribly amateurish. For example, a character opens the door and walks into a bungalow--and then we see them walking offstage behind the facade. Really?

Bottom Line

I could go on, but you get the point. The best I can hope for is that the show really isn't done, and this is the best they could slap together in time for the opening. There are some obviously talented actors and singers, but there isn't much for them to do. I really don't think there's enough meat on the bones of this beast to make a satisfying snack, much less a professional-quality musical production.

One of our party summed it up that the whole thing was really deficient in every area: script, music, stagecraft, choreography, direction, acting....

It's hard for me to say this about any play, but this is just not worth seeing. It would be pretty disappointing as a community theater production, but from a major regional theater company, it's just inexcusable. One can only hope the new management at ACT will spare us such a showing in the future.

Both thumbs down on this one. I wish there were something I could recommend about it, but really, there is nothing. Save your money and go see two or three plays at smaller theaters. You'll have a much better time. All four shows I saw in the week after seeing this were much better.