Review: TITLE OF SHOW at Fells Point Corner Theatre Delights Musical Theater Lovers

It must be said. TITLE OF SHOW is an enigma. It's one of those shows that, even after someone has explained it to you, you don't really know exactly what to expect until you take your seat in the theater and the curtain goes up. It's a tricky premise - a show about its own creation. If you really start to think about it too closely, you may come to some sort of philosophical conclusions about life and its meaning. If you just go with it and don't contemplate too much, you'll have a fairly fabulous night at the theater. And honestly, a few good nights at the theater, could lead to a pretty happy life, so I suppose you could thank TITLE OF SHOW for providing you that...

This is the predicament I found myself in when I first chose to google TITLE OF SHOW, after securing my tickets to Fells Point Corner Theatre's superb production. I read the Wikipedia outline of the show I was about to see, and was thoroughly confused by its premise. How could a show be all about its own production? Honestly, it made my head hurt a bit. But I made the decision to just go with it. Afterall, a night at the theater will always be a great night, even if you're thoroughly confused. And as it turns out, by the time the singing starts, it makes perfect sense.

Jeff and Hunter are friends who are living in New York but are very unhappy with their dull lives. So they decide to enlist their other friends Heidi and Susan to write a musical to submit to the New York Musical Festival. But they don't exactly know what to write about, so they write about the musical they're writing. See? I fear I've lost you. Once again, just go with it. It makes perfect sense in context, especially when you see it with this delightful cast.

All 4 actors committed totally to the craziness of the plot and the shenanigans of writing a musical for Broadway. These actors were portraying close friends, so chemistry was a must. The foursome shared inside jokes and insults easily; the way only old friends can. They hit all the jokes and all the right notes. They were perfectly cast for what I'm sure was a difficult show to wrap their heads around. Not only were the actors committed to telling the story, but they all realized just how funny this show could be.

What I liked specifically about this production, was their ability to add some of today's theater references into their plot. The show's about 10 years old, so hard core "theater dorks" may have gotten the references but not your everyday theater goer. However, this team added a few references to shows currently running on Broadway like AMELIE and even added a few bars of HAMILTON in for good measure, which got one of the biggest laughs of the night. That attention to comedy as well as the story is what made this particular production so enjoyable.

A premise as out of the box as TITLE OF SHOW could get a bit stale after a few years. But the Fells Point Corner Theatre managed to make it appealing for new audiences by casting some great comedians and making a few tweaks here and there to really capture the magic of the theater. For that reason alone, I would recommend this show to anyone who has ever been accused of being a bit of a theater geek. Those that have can wear that banner proudly while seeing this production. TITLE OF SHOW is really just a love letter to those that have fallen for a Broadway musical, and Fells Point Corner Theatre has managed to share that message with their audience along with some big laughs and just the right bit of snark.

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