Review: SWAN LAKE ROCK OPERA at Actors Temple Theatre

The slightly offbeat Swan Lake Rock Opera recently opened at Actors Temple Theatre in New York, bringing a mishmash of gorgeously dressed characters on the stage but not without fault.

The night before his wedding day, Crown Prince "Ziggy" Siegfried should be having fun at his salacious bachelor party hosted by billionaire Von Rothbart at the Swan Lake Mansion, but he's miserable. This is the night he finally realizes he will no longer live his bachelor lifestyle - running around with Rothbart's daughter who is not a princess. Ziggy is young and inexperienced when it comes to life and love, which is clear when his cocky behavior turns limp after falling for one of the mansion girls that are called swannies. In an alcohol haze, Ziggy proclaims his love to her without knowing much about the young woman, only that she may be a princess who ran away from her family.

The costumes in this musical were stunning but that didn't take away from the fact that the characters remained relatively flat, except for Rothbart who charmed the audience with his seemingly thick Jersey Italian accent and intense hand mannerisms that had you believing he walked off the set of a favorite crime drama.

We never really got to know the characters on a deeper level. The swannie Ziggy falls for surely has an interesting past, but we barely see it. It would have also been helpful to learn more about Ziggy's upbringing to understand why he puts on that playboy front.

While the lyrics were written by the Israeli lyricist Mirit Shem Ur, the music acts were left to be desired. The singing felt off, not necessarily lining up with the emotion that should have been presented on the stage, or if the emotion was there, the voice was not.

This is an interesting take on Swan Lake which was directed by Tsedi Sarfati, but it had very little to do with the actual ballet, and with no opera found throughout the play, it's hard to understand what the title means. As for the rock, there were only a few bursts of electric guitar thrown in the background, where a stronger presence might have helped claim its title.

The website refers to this musical as "sexy" and "scandalous," but it's not entirely the raunchy good time you may have in mind. It's slightly demeaning, portraying women as silly, slutty swans or psychotic mistresses obsessed with a man, but there isn't any real punchline that follows. Poking fun can work when it's clear that's all it is, but when there's no lead up to something bigger it remains shallow and narcissistic.

Swan Lake Rock Opera runs every Thursday until December 30th.

Photo courtesy of @swanlakerockopera

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