If you have a very small attention span, this play might be right up your alley because of its relentless pacing, to a point where the lines don’t fully land, particularly in Act 1. However, this is fully remedied in Act 2.  This is a product of a show that’s trying to do a lot. The dancing and audience interaction are quite fun, like the call-in response to the audience. Some audiences are more receptive than others. I would say there was a mild, receptive audience on the night I attended. Music is incorporated from three different sources: the live 3-piece band (Mike Manzer, Rob Bethancourt & Justin Juknelis), the vinyl records playing, and the prerecorded music.  There’s an intention to the chaos, largely, but it doesn’t always benefit the story.

What definitely benefited the story in a surprising fashion was a fascinating performance from Bobby Gonzalez as Lady Brangian. This is another perfect example of never judging a book by its cover. Typically, a character like this is portrayed in older plays when a man is dressed as a woman. It’s meant to be played off comically.  This is still the case in this play.  Brangian is obviously written for comedic relief, but arguably not fully. I’m going to be vague on purpose. I don’t like spoilers. Gonzalez’s monologue, after a pretty crucial scene, is so unexpected, so vulnerable, that it really had me adjust in real time how I see that character in particular and how I see the character as that archetype. It was an extraordinary showing from Gonzalez.

The Love Spotters from the Club of the Unloved dance, sing, and battle throughout the show, providing much-needed action to fill the gaps between the play’s more dramatic moments.  Emily Taylor’s choreography is lively and performed well by this crew.

I am not a dialect expert, but to these American ears, Emily Porrs’ Irish accent as Ysuelt was clear and not overemphasized, as can happen.  In a script that asks so much of a character and with so little time, I couldn’t imagine it performed better under the circumstances. Wesley Chavez walks the tightrope of playing King Mark with great care. He balanced the character’s great ego and gentle heart.

Besides the tendency to get lost in the hoopla, there’s something very moving about this piece. Yes, pun intended!