I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into Cockroach Theatre’s Fringe offering, titled The Residents. It was supposed to have been two shows, one by each of their resident playwrights, but unforeseen circumstances led to the cancellation of one of the plays. The remaining show, Sudoku [the Musical] – music by Jolana Adamson and Angela Chan, lyrics by Jolana Adamson, book by Ernie Curcio – gave few clues to what it would be like. I’ll admit, I almost decided to not see the show because of the fewer titles, and I am so glad I made the decision to see it anyway. Sudoku was a theatrical masterpiece that shouldn’t be missed.
Clint seems to be stuck on his puzzle. But as his wife Jocelyn tries to get him to dress for a family gathering, we begin to sense that something more is wrong. Amid paranoid delusions that her family is trying to kill him, Clint is completely obsessed with finding the answer to his Sudoku puzzle. Is it a one or a seven, a seven or one? Though Jocelyn insists that she can’t do it for him, he is unable to make the leap of faith so he can move on.
If the above synopsis seems a little odd and vague, it is because I think this show works better the less you know about it going in. Obviously, I can’t keep you completely in the dark, but I’ll try not to spoil too much either.
It is always a good sign for a musical when parts of the score are running through your head days later, and I still have a couple themes stuck there. The music is catchy and contagious, while Adamson’s lyrics are clever, often, witty, and advance the story and character as needed. And it is all interwoven with Curcio’s book, which winds a narrow and treacherous path, revealing only what he wants you to see until he’s ready to reveal the next, without a single misstep.
Jacquelyn Holland-Wright plays the sympathetic but frustrated Jocelyn who seems to be trying to deal with her husband’s mental illness. But she needs to be careful: too harsh and we end up hating her, too enabling and we end up hating him, and either would be fatal to this work. Luckily, Holland-Wright threads that needle perfectly, making sure we care about both of them. And what a voice! And her rendition of the show’s breakaway pop hit* (which I think is titled “Me, Me, Me” – note to whoever is in charge of these things – song titles in the program so we don’t have to guess…just an idea…) proves she can really sell a song.
But it is Glenn Heath that I am most impressed with here. The first five minutes or so are nothing more than him on stage alone, no words, only actions. You start off laughing at some of his silly antics, but you soon come to realize there is something disturbing about what he is doing, as if we are intruding on someone’s private breakdown. Heath skillfully resists the temptation to play it for laughs, instead giving it a realism that is sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes humorous, sometimes frightening. But he also has a vulnerability that makes us want him to come out on top. The character of Clint could have become many things: a joke, a cliche, a stereotype, an object of pity or of derision. Instead Heath makes him human – someone we can relate to and cheer for.
With a musical about mental health, there will be inevitable comparisons to Next to Normal. And there are similarities. But Sudoku stands very well on its own. (And I never got the “oh, I really liked it, but it’s so much like [insert incredibly good artist here]” as if that’s a bad thing…) My biggest concern is where does it go from here? How marketable is a 30-minute musical? But I think expanding it might ruin the careful balance they have crafted. But I do know one thing: I’m very interested to see what they do next.
The Residents continues at the Las Vegas Fringe Festival on the LVLT Black Box stage on Friday, June 7 @ 7:30PM; Saturday, June 8 @ 9:00PM and Sunday, June 9 @ 12:00PM.
Grade: A
*Anya, “Once More with Feeling”, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Yes, I’m not just a theatre geek, I’m several other kinds of geek, too…)
Las Vegas Theatre Review 