BWW Reviews: FUGITIVE SONGS is a Show to Run to and Not Run Away From

Perhaps Bruce Springsteen was right. Every one of us, at one time or another, is born to run.

In the 19-song musical FUGITIVE SONGS, co-writers Nathan Tysen and Chris Miller explore different scenarios in which all six cast members run away. . Some of the characters hit the road to escape the doldrums of humdrum existence, some do it to find themselves or leave their past behind them, and some take off just for the sake of adventure. FUGITIVE SONGS opened on Nov. 13 and will close its run on Nov. 30 at Short North Stage's Garden Theatre (1187 N. High Street in downtown Columbus).

Some of the songs are upbeat and funny and some are melancholic. But what makes FUGITIVE SONGS work is the beautiful marriage of well-crafted songs and the harmonious vocals of actors Angela Miller, JJ Parkey, Dionysia Williams, Ezekiel Andrew, Melissa Hall and Viktor Nilsson who bring the material to life.

FUGITIVE SONGS came to life as a leftoverture. Miller and Tysen had a collection of songs from projects that didn't quite pan out. Those tunes became "fugitive songs," pieces that didn't quite have a home but were too well done just toss away. The pair created a song cycle in which all the tracks deal with people who were running towards or running away from something. There's no straight storyline but each song provides its own story.

The opening number "Reasons to Run" ties the theme together as the chorus proclaims "If the scenery is not changing, then you need a better view. Ev'ry dollar drowns the gas tank for the place I'm racing to."

Each of the actors has his or her moment in the spotlight. Nilsson shines in "Getting There" as he tells the story of one-hour photo shop employee who grows weary of having to develop pictures from other people's vacations and leaves to have an adventure of his own.

Miller sparkles in "Annie's Party" as a hostess of a party where all the people on the guest list show up with the exception of her boyfriend ... again. Miller gets laughs without making her character a cartoon, delivering one great line after another - "White gloves, bouffant dress, hair flipped, latest trend. Clutch purse, cultured pearls, dressed to kill ... my boyfriend."

Parkey, who had the ultra-serious title role in the Short North Stage's production of THE WHO'S TOMMY, stretches his comedic legs with songs like "Wilson" (about a stoner who becomes an unwitting accomplice to a gas station hold-up) and "Subway Song" (about a frustrated sandwich "artist" who is doing "maximum time at minimum wage" at a local sub shop).

With a soaring voice, Andrew delivers in "Passing Tracy," the story of a hitchhiker who sees the image of his ex-girlfriend in every car that passes him by.

The show is not just a collection of great soloes. Williams and Hall collaborate on "Poor Little Patty," in which two urbanities wish they could trade places with newspaper heiress and Symbionese Liberation Army kidnap victim Patty Hearst. Williams sings "From the first on the nightly news, Patty Hearst got everyone thinking. And the worst thought spinning through my head 'Those urban guerrillas shoulda snatched me instead.'"

Tysen, who co-directed the show with Carrie Gilchrist, wanted to have an intimate, MTV-UNPLUGGED feel to FUGITIVE SONGS. The decision to have the audience seated up on the stage with the band and the performers just a few feet away gives the show a very intimate feel, like strangers are sharing their deepest desires with you. The onlookers may not have experienced each scenario but they will be able to relate to the characters' struggles and frustrations to get going somewhere.

Not all of the characters' journeys end over the border in Happily Ever After land but they are all richer for the journey. I believe the audience will leave the show feeling the same way.

FUGITIVE SONGS' will continue to run 8 p.m. Nov. 14-15, 20-22, and 28-29 with 3 p.m. shows Nov. 16, 23, and 30 at Garden Theater (1187 North High Street in downtown Columbus.

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