BWW Reviews: New A/C Theatre Company's MURDER BALLAD Is Top-Notch

From Tallahatchie to Manhattan, the streets of life are littered with broken dreams and shattered schemes and the persistent fantasy that the grass will be greener elsewhere. Murder ballads have thrived on the pain and sorrow of hungry souls and the unintended consequences of their errant ways.

Consider, for example, the tone-setting songs of Johnny Cash (Delia's Gone) and Cher (Bang Bang) that precede showtime for A/C Theatre Company's inaugural production of Murder Ballad, the tour de force rock musical, conceived and written by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, that opened three years ago to rave reviews in New York and elevated the genre to new heights with its razor sharp music and lyrics.

Note now that on Friday evening, August 7th, 2015, A/CTC, the Valley of the Sun's fresh new entry in local theater, charged out of the chute with a magnificent and electrifying staging of Murder Ballad, directed by Tim Shawver and featuring four of the Valley's top talents.

The tale of the Ballad's love triangle is told by the Narrator (the superb Cassie Chilton), a craftily etched character in her own right who keeps a close eye on all the parties to the plot and is a riveting on-stage across-the-stage presence.

At the heart, so to speak, of the triangle is Sara (movingly portrayed by Kim Richard), a downtown and downhearted girl looking for love and finding it, at first, in the arms of barfly and later bartender Tom (the finely tuned Miguel Jackson). The fling lasts until she's drawn to Michael (well-played by Marshall Glass) who offers Upper West Side promises of a ring, a baby, and the affluence that comes with an MBA.

Sara has made it ~ a good man and a good life and a good baby ~ but, after time and a growing sense of uselessness, she draws herself back to a fling with Tom. Realizing the error of her ways, she breaks off the affair and returns to home and hearth. Tom won't let go and, in a confrontation among the three at a playground, the transgression is revealed.

Yes, it's a seesaw of emotions ~ of approaches and avoidances, of the irresistible lure of imagined escapes from reality ~ and in the hands of this cast, the ups and downs are played extremely well, straight through to the surprise ending ~ a surprise that you won't see coming unless you've watched the characters very carefully.

Kudos to the cast for their brilliant vocals and their astute interpretations of their characters and to Mark 4man for his band's robust musical backup.

And, kudos to Mr. Shawver for his intelligent and economical interpretation and design of the play. Intended as immersive theatre, the original production had its cast moving among audience members in a cabaret-style setting, striding among cocktail tables. Mr. Shawver has honored the intention while working within the constraints of his given venue. So, the audience is indeed thrust into the action, but, in this case, as engaged and rapt witnesses to the testimonies of the cast.

Mr. Shawver and the co-founders of the company have defined the A/C in their name as first representing a response to a perceived increasing demand for alternative theater and second, delivering accessibly cool offerings to meet this demand. Well, congratulations to them all for keeping their promise with the production of Murder Ballad! May this be the beginning of a long stretch of successes.

MURDER BALLAD runs through August 27th at the Hardes Theatre at Phoenix Theatre.

Photo credit to CJ Mascarelli

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