Review: MAGSHIMIM HIGH SCHOOL at Incubator Theater - A New Rap Musical

Let me begin this review with a confession: I am not the world's most ardent rap fan. To those who love the genre, my apologies.

I felt the need to open with this because I believe that one's enthusiasm for rap music may give them an edge when watching the musical "Magshimim High School".
I may have gotten this impression because of the strange look I received from the usher when I asked who "Jimbo J" is - the nickname of Omer Habaron.
Or perhaps it was because I found myself not breaking into applause with everyone else when the actors finished a complicated rap. (Although, to be fair, does Ben Yosipovich, who plays Hamlet at the Habima Theater, stop after every difficult scene and wait for the clapping to come to an end? I don't think so.)

Anyway, the show begins, and I recognize the Brechtian elements. Personally, I really like the "epic theater" of Brecht. Especially in the parody! There is something in the epic theater that distances the viewer, that gives him a feeling of "we came to laugh at the situation from afar." For example, in the show, the exposed lighting poles and the clothes hangers on the stage, an element that helped compliment the parody.

My problem with connecting to the musical - a failure that, surprisingly, came without any connection to the rap music - resulted from the misapplication of the element of Parody, as well as the foundation of the epic theater - my ability to believe the actors.
The musical tells the story of Yoav, a new student at the Magshimim High School who is torn between his loyalty to himself and his eagerness to fit in. Unfortunately, in an hour and forty minutes of musical, about an hour in the actors come to believe their own story- a story of a child who establishes his social status through rap music.

Not that I have a problem believing such a far-fetched story itself - the musical "Halfon 6", too, of the Incubator theater, was not realistic at all, but still believable.

I just feel that you cannot direct and perform "Brechtian": see the actors dress on stage, and watch the actors exchange characters in seconds, and then simply demand the viewer believe your story in 100% - that just doesn't work! Especially when Brecht himself would not want us to simply suspend disbelief: he would expect people to examine the characters, to judge them.

Also, the emotions should not overshadow the actor - just look at the story, contemplate the story! Mother Courage, for example, begins with the mother's death at the end. Why? So that we will think about the story and the message, and not spend the play pondering "what will happen to the mother at the end?"


All in all, with less of a connection to my lack of love for rap, and due more to my disappointment with an underdeveloped application of Brechtian, there were still many things that worked in this show. Among them: the excellent music created by Omer Habaron, Amit Ulman and Omer Mor; and, the unique and charming stage design of Danny Beilinson.

Maybe this musical is really more suitable for rap lovers, an audience who might enjoy a long line of words put together with catchy music, but who might not otherwise relish delving into a complete theatrical work.

Or, maybe, it's just me.


Lyrics and Music: Omer Habaron, Amit Ulman and Omer Mor
Director and Writer: Amit Ulman
Assistant Director: Omer Habaron
Musical Arrangemet: Omer Moore
Choreography: Stepper Productions - Tamir Stepper and Daniel Maimon
Photo Cradit: Incubator theater and Arthur Landa

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