Review - Inner Voices (2016)

A few years ago, I went to see Inner Voices, where a musical theater team writes a 30-minute musical for one performer.  I went to the 2012 version because I was so interested in seeing Polly Pen's Arlington, which I loved.  I missed the 2014 version, darn it, but when this year's slate was announced and I saw that the writing team of Southern Comfort had a piece included, I knew I wanted to get a ticket.  I know that writing team and enjoy their work already, but I did want to check out this new short piece.

Inner Voices started eight years ago and is a very interesting endeavor.  I go more into the genesis and thoughts behind the project in my review from 2012 (which you can find HERE.)  I'll just focus on last night.  I'll admit up front that I only saw two of the three short musicals - I did leave at intermission.  I was so tired and felt a little unwell and since I had ADORED one of the two I saw in the first act, I figured my night couldn't get any better, theatrically speaking.

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

The first piece was called Just One "Q" and it was a slight, but sweet, piece about an attendant at a nursing home and how he had to play peacekeeper between two squabbling residents.  The actor, T. Oliver Reid, was wonderful and he differentiated between the various character voices beautifully.  The music was pleasant and the lyrics were quite smart.  If I thought that the piece was a little stretched by being 30 minutes, ok.  I was reasonably engaged throughout, though, mainly because Reid was so terrific.

The second piece was called The Pen and it was written by Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis, who wrote Southern Comfort, which you may remember I enjoyed a lot.  You may also remember that I know Dan and Julianne a bit, so I may be predisposed to enjoy their work, but I was really gobsmacked by The Pen.

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

Nancy Anderson, a longtime favorite of mine, plays Laura, a woman getting ready for work.  She's adorably put together in a very cute and quirky business-style outfit and is happily singing to begin her day.  I had a giggle at her habits before leaving the house - checking the stove, checking the tv, vaguely OCD things like I do (I check to make sure my door is closed several times before I leave the house in the morning), but suddenly the whole thing turns when Laura finds a pen in her purse.  A pen that doesn't belong to her. And her world falls apart.  

She starts singing about how she doesn't know where the pen has been, and maybe it has germs, and maybe she's already infected, and, and, and. Laura goes into a full-blown panic attack due to extreme OCD and she now can't leave her apartment.  You can hear in the music, and hear in the lyrics, and understand in the performance how heartbreaking this whole thing is.  The entire piece is incredibly moving.  And surprising.  It kept going in places I didn't expect - Laura's memories of her father from the beginning start to turn when you put them together with her illness, and the positive attitude she showed at the start turns in to tragic resignation, yet hopeful self-encouragement.  There are a lot of ups and downs, and twists and turns, and a completely ambiguous ending, amazingly performed by Nancy Anderson.

In Southern Comfort, Dan and Julianne's score was tinged with folk and country sounds, but The Pen is something different.  It's not exactly pop-y, and it's not exactly musical theater-y, but it's its own sound, completely appropriate for this particular character.  You can actually hear in the music the dissonance in Laura's mind and the melding of the music and the characterization is really terrific.  It's sort of amazing to me that such a full and rich piece can play out in only 30 minutes.

got this shot as I got on the train

I've seen a lot of shows (obviously) and it's not often I'm taken completely by surprise by something. The Pen took me completely by surprise.  And I loved it.  I feel guilty about missing the third piece, but besides being tired and not in the mood to stay, I also just wanted to get on the subway and live with The Pen for a little longer.  You should definitely go see it. I think I may need to go back, to see how the clues are laid out for me at the top, and to thrill in the wonderful fusion of music, story and performance again...