“Lydia and Tom: A New Musical” at the New York International Fringe Festival at the Theater at the 14th Street Y
“Lydia and Tom: A New Musical” at the New York International Fringe Festival at the Theater at the 14th Street Y Written by Nick Parker and Composed by Solomon Hillman Directed by Alex Hare Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
The new musical “Lydia and Tom” is a refreshingly interesting concept that fuses music, dance, voice and drama to its essence and explores a complicated yet familiar coming of age relationship. Driving the plot are two major conflicts: the choice between a platonic or carnal relationship and career choices that affect the stability of that relationship and self fulfillment. The themes are nothing new or adventurous but the translation is. As Lydia and Tom speak and sing about their aforementioned woes, their alter egos exorcise their feelings through interpretive dance. The music is pure and inventive and provides the cast with melodic and dissonant echoes to explore a vast array of emotion.
Lydia and Tom the actors are played respectively by Raquel Chavez and Sam Mickel: they do a fine job creating believable characters with depth and substance. Ms. Chavez has a sweet vocal quality but lacks projection both singing and speaking. Mr. Mickel has a strong, clear vocal that resonates but tends to experience pitchy pitfalls when the melody is not evident. Rebekah Lowin and Jacob Samuels round out the cast portraying the female and male ensemble and intermittent distractions to Lydia and Tom’s search for meaning in relationship.
As their alter egos, dancers Adrianna Aguilar and Zak Jacobs are fascinating and capable. Ms. Aguilar, who also choreographed the piece, is expressive and lyric using her small frame exquisitely to harness giant emotions. Incorporating dance movements to change scenery, it would have been advantageous to involve the set pieces even more intricately, adopting them into one seamless effort. Mr. Jacobs is intriguing as nuances spill from his face to define his character’s inner thoughts. His sinewy muscles produce pain, anger, distress and joy as he attacks the deliberate movement to release his emotion. What is lacking in technique is rectified by attitude.
Under the astute direction of Alex Hare, the cast easily manages the script at a comfortable and smart pace. There are some staging issues that could be addressed that would help enhance certain scenes and some missed opportunities for additional dance sequences that might heighten the emotional content. Also there are moments that are visually confusing when mediums conflict and battle for focus.
Certainly this collaborative effort by these young artists results in a promising small chamber musical that deserves attention.
LYDIA AND TOM: A NEW MUSICAL
“Lydia and Tom: A New Musical” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street (at 1st Avenue).
The cast includes Raquel Chavez (actor) and Adrianna Aguilar (dancer) and Tom will be played by Sam Mickel (actor) and Zak Jacobs (dancer). The cast will also be featuring Rebekah Lowin and Jacob Samuels (courtesy of AEA) as ensemble members. The creative team includes movement direction by Victoria Pollack and choreography by Adrianna Aguilar. The five-piece orchestra includes Solomon Hoffman (piano); Nicholas Perry (violin); Nick Parker (drums); Lucy Hayes (Cello); and Alex Roth (bass).
All performances of “Lydia and Tom: A New Musical” take place at on the following schedule: Wednesday August 14th at 8:45 p.m.; Sunday August 18th at 6:45 p.m.; and Saturday August 24th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $18.00 at the door and $15.00 for advance purchase. The running time is 1 hour and 40 minutes. For more information about the show visit www.lydiaandtomthemusical.com For more information about the 17th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, August 12, 2013
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