Review: LAW & ORDER: THE MUSICAL Subpoenas Laughter, Suspects, and Courtroom Zaniness at The Broadwater Second Stage Theatre

Cleverly and wittingly written, not only the book, but the intricate, explanatory and humorous lyrics to the ten musical numbers written for the show with wonderful vocal arrangements to match; Law and Order; The Musical, delivers the clues, the facts, the suspects, the crime and plenty of hilarity during this mock-up and laugh-a-minute parody spoofing the epic long-running TV drama. The spiffy and caricatured choreography was an added bonus to the already lively, full of energy cast of characters we meet. Being a long-time fan of the series, it was fun to mix and match the characters to the different actors you've seen playing those roles.

The woman behind all this creativity is Ilyse Mimoun, who plays one of the leads, and has written, directed and is executive producer of this brand new endeavor. Kudos to the entire cast for mastering the extensive dialogue, lyrics, musical staging, choreography, and some really great harmony!

As soon as you hear that "Doink-Doink" in that warning tone of " listen up!" and see on the back wall of the darkened black box theatre a projected square that looks just like your TV at home when "Law and Order" first begins, with the black background and the 3-D lettering, you are immediately transported to the format of the show, the familiar voiceover, "In the criminal justice system..." the back wall flashing a photo of the setting each scene takes place in. We meet the characters and learn of the crime and clues, by first being at the crime scene, as the crime is committed, afterwards, the police station, Court, chambers, the examiner's office, and other sundry locales.

As Le Croix, the female district attorney/prosecutor, Ilyse Mimoun sells it to the hilt. Very assured in her delivery, and great timing comedically, however, as with most of the cast, a little lacking in vocal power. Although it could have been a sound technicality, and it did not deter from understanding the lyrics, I was hoping for a few good belt voices to hit us with an 11 o'clock number somewhere along the way. Since this was opening night, and they're running through March 15th, I'm sure they will be tightening up and ironing out, but the material is original, clever, well-thought out and quite gleefully entertaining. The accompanying choreography, by Lou Becker is right on the money; highlighting the silliness of the lyrics, while all the characters harmonize wonderfully, and with just enough finesse to all stay together in the group numbers, but in character, lending their characters' personalities to the way they each did the steps. There are very innovative formations in use that make this small cast look like a much larger ensemble.

Most all of the cast play multiple roles, all very well, and everyone on stage was genuinely into it, and enjoying themselves. Steve Fite, as Criscoe, the lead detective and who later on plays Klincaid, the prosecutor's assistant, is appropriately fumbling to be cool, obsessed with how everything's changed nowadays and full of glib dialogue. He's the gumshoe personified, and carries the show with aplomb.

Kira Powell plays the maid with manic energy after discovering the "body," and both of the characters Holly, (who's really Sophie) and Sophie, who both keep the plot twisting and turning. Annie Bond has a total of four characters she plays, each one succinctly different. Her "Cupcake," the mistress in this tangled web is much less restrained than her "Dolivet," a take-off on Law & Order's in-house psychoanalyst, "Olivet."

Godfrey Flax, as Sammy Dunbar and other assorted characters, plays the volatile suspect that gets grilled by the pair of detectives, overplaying purposefully their "good-cop. bad-cop" shtick, as he breaks into a song called "I'm just a Red Herring" that turns into an entire production number, with the entire cast.

Kerr Lordygan plays a plethora of crazy characters, proving his versatility in changing gears quite often, and making each character uniquely funny. Tifanie McQueen plays both the M. E. and defense attorney Danielle Felnik with spunk and assurance. Tara Cox fervently plays both Fanita and the Judge, and Ebenezer Alasi is great as the other bumbling detective, Geene, as well as playing the Court Clerk.

The vocal and musical arrangements (Jeremy Adelman, Musical Director) are one of the highlights I was pleasantly surprised with, and the cast's reenactment musically of the Law & Order Theme song at the top of the show, singing and dancing, with different voices mimicking different instruments, and just the perfect goofy dance steps and formations to go along, got the show off to a roaring good start.

Each musical number kept the plot moving right along, with giggles galore and plenty of action occurring simultaneously. With no intermission, this 80-minute show glides right along and tickles your funny bone from beginning to end. You're sure to be entertained, and kept involved in the crazy shenanigans of Law & Order.

Presented by Blooming Damsels Productions, Law & Order: The Musical! runs through March 15, 2020, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, at the Broadwater Second Stage Theater, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038. Reservations: 800-838-3006/online ticketing: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4470025.

Photos courtesy of Ben Rock.

To post a comment, you must register and login.