BWW CD Review: 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL (Original Cast Recording) is Funny But Obvious

50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL first spurt onto the solar plexus of the music theater scene on August 22, 2012 during the 2012 Edinburg Fringe Festival. Edging past SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY by premiering about two months before its competition, "The Original Parody" has received glowing reviews in Edinburg, Chicago, New York City, and the other markets the show has played. With a sturdy and somewhat ravenous fan base, recording a cast album was definitely a logical progression. As this musical will soon be playing in my neck of the woods, I was excited to get a chance to experience the music from the show. As I listened to the songs, I found them entertaining but not highly memorable.

The lasciviously raunchy musical features Music and Lyrics by Al Samuels, Amanda Blake Davis, Jody Shelton, Ashley Ward, and Dan Wessels. This quintet, with assistance from Emily Dorezas, also wrote the Book for the show. Each of these writers is a member of the Chicago-based musical improvisation ensemble Baby Wants Candy, which has featured and groomed performers such as Stephnie Weir (MadTV), Rachel Dratch (SNL), Seth Meyers (SNL), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), and others. Baby Wants Candy's central conceit for their show centers on a book club that decides to move past discussing Jane Austin's Mr. Darcy and Thomas Hardy's Alec d'Urberville. Instead, they want to explore ChristIan Grey. Mix in bawdy shenanigans and overt sexual innuendos, and the show amuses audiences for 90 minutes.

The art form of parody imitates the original work while making it more absurd than it originally was. It also often fools with highbrow material and lowers it to the basest level. Well, E.L. James' shoddy writing is already at the low end of the spectrum, so all Baby Wants Candy can do is make the silly material even more ridiculous. They craft sophomoric lyrics that easily accomplish laugh out loud moments, especially when Nick Semar croons "It doesn't have to be so scary/ We'll missionary/ To pop your cherry, mi amor" and Chris Grace sings "So you'll forgive me, if there are no roses./ Forgive me, you're out of luck./ Forgive me for no loving touches/ I don't make love; I f**k." Springboarding off of writing that was entirely devoid of subtly, it is no surprise that it never manifests itself on the album either. However, would it be too much to ask that these comedians elevate the material to include some clever subtly or more intellectual laughs? Everything on the album is just so obvious. Perhaps these moments can be found in the book scenes that make up the other 60-ish minutes of the live performance.

Musically, the score offers no demanding challenges or surprises. The cast performs the numbers well. Each song sits comfortably in the performer's or performers' vocal range, letting them cut loose and just have fun with the pieces. Listening to the album, the audience can hear how much the cast loves what they are doing, which keeps the energy high and the tone bright. My favorite moment in the score is the passing reference to Andrew Lloyd Weber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on "Follow Him" and Chris Grace's hysterical rendition of "I Don't Make Love."

In the end, 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL (Original Cast Recording) isn't bad. It's not dull or uninspired. The creative team and cast have crafted a hotly hedonistic comedy that, at least on this recording, suffers from being too predictable. I feel certain that this album plays better for those who have already seen the show and that I'll probably enjoy it more after 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL's run in Houston this December.

50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL (Original Cast Recording) was released by Theater Advisor Records on August 13, 2013. Digital copies can be purchased at iTunes and Amazon. Physical copies are currently available on the 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL website and in theaters where the musical is being performed on tour, and they will be available in stores as of September 24, 2013.

For more information about 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL and to purchase tickets to its North American tour, visit http://50shadesthemusical.com.

For information about other theatrical recording releases, click here.

Image courtesy of Theater Advisor Records.

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