Review: Campy New Musical Suffers 'Insignificant' Book

L. Jay Kuo, the brains behind Insignificant Others, a new romantic-comedy musical now playing the Zeum Theatre, has poured great amounts of time, effort, love and cash into his gay ol'-show. He and the cast and creatives should be proud of its growth; its seed planted years ago at a church in Portrero Hill.  Plus an original musical in San Francisco deserves a brava!

Still, in spite of all, Insignificant Others (commonly known as ISO) stumbles through a script in desperate need of repair.  Behind its pink feather-boas and boy-toy kick-lines, Kuo's show struggles in what one can only describe as premature staging.

Five friends from Cleveland immerse themselves into San Francisco culture with hopes of finding themselves and some man-lovin'.  Things get rocky when Luke (Andrew Sa) discovers he has feelings for his best-friend Jordan (Jason Hoover), who meanwhile has feelings for his ambiguous co-worker Erik (Justin McKee).  Toss in Jeannine (Erin Diamantides) and Kristen (Lillian Askew), roommates dating the same guy, and we've got cocktails and cheese! Margaret (Sarah Kathleen Farrell), our honorable fruit-fly, holds center.

Yet we learn nothing about these characters by curtain-call.  What we do know is these five "best friends" can be very picky, wallow in unrequited love affairs, and cannot have face-to-face conversations, (crutching on cell phones or laptops).  By act two, some prefer not to communicate at all.

Who is left for the audience to care about? Oh, that's right!  "The others."  As in the insignificant secondary characters who – while capturing the attention of the main five throughout the play – will leave the picture by finale.  Le culprit? Ze book.

Askew and Diamantides get the short-end of the stick, stuck in a sub-plot ripped from a mid-season "Friends" episode.  Why it takes nine weeks for two roommates to learn they're dating one man is anyone's guess!  The love-triangle (with as much conflict as a sponge) reaches an "only-in-San Francisco" climax involving marijuana, leather, and The Supremes.

Fortunately Kuo's secret weapon is his humor.  Outside of book-musicals, Kuo would excel in writing original material for revues.  His songs are witty, contemporary, and dripping in sexuality. "Gay or Straight?" (guess what the song's about) has a hilarious build-up as Jordan prowls through Erik's room looking for stereotypical signs of homo/heteroism.

He hits comedy gold with the green-beret barista anthem "Starbucks," followed by two even more riotous reprises.  Farrell basks in three of Margaret's tickling tales with unlucky lovers; most notably in "Plumbing" as she whimpers in the woes of dating a post-op tranny. She showcases some of Kuo's best lyrics! Hands-down the most "talked-about" performer in the company.

McKee demonstrates his impressive voice in his solo, "House." Sa possesses an absolutely gorgeous tenor... exemplary in "So Many Things," but lacked sufficient volume to keep from being swallowed by the band in a sung-through show.  Hoover soon wins you over with his comedic styling and strong baritone belt – a real treat in the second act.  He and Sa sound pristine in their duets. 

Props especially to ensemble Dane Paul Andres, Bobby Bryce, Mary Kalita and Alex Rodriguez for their multiple costume-changes, sassy footwork (by David E. Garcia), and rrrrrevolutionary movements in the frappuccino franchise!

What this show does have going for it is an explosion of life and youthfulness on-stage.  A handful of stand-out performers and the backing of gaggles of theatre queens desperate for camp should keep the Zeum's purple lights a-glow.

Insignificant Others: music, lyrics and book by L. Jay Kuo, directed by George Quick, at the Yerba Buena Zeum Theatre through August 26, 2007. 2-hrs with one 15-min intermission. Tickets ($35-$39) are available at www.isomusical.com. The Zeum Theatre is located at 221 Fourth Street at Howard in San Francisco.

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