Review: 13 THE MUSICAL at Simply Theatre, Geneva

The angst, anger and acne of adolescence played out in musical form at the weekend with Simply Theatre's latest production: 13 The Musical.

The Swiss debut of the show by Jason Robert Brown with book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn, opened last week at Simply Theatre's Studio Theatre in Versoix, near Geneva.

Playing to a packed house on opening night, 13, which had its Broadway premiere in 2008, tells the simple tale of Jewish American tween Evan Goldman (Leo Khan), who needs to form new friendships and make big decisions after being transplanted from Manhattan to Appleton, Indiana, following his parents' divorce. Adding to the drama, he's only a month-or-so away from his much-anticipated Bar Mitzvah!

Shortly after arriving in his new home, Evan meets Patrice (Lily Slater) and Archie (Jeremy Gobrogge), who walks with crutches due to muscular dystrophy. Both try to help him transition to 'small town' life. However, his new pals are not the most popular duo at school and Evan soon has to make difficult decisions; be estranged with the geeks or join the cool kids and have guaranteed guests at his fast approaching 13th birthday.

Obviously, both decisions come with their challenges, irks and misunderstandings; one having Evan (now sporting the moniker "the Brain") play re-match-maker to tough guy - albeit dense - jock, Brett (Nicolas Olney) and his former cheerleader girlfriend Kendra (Lydia Churchill). This culminates in a 'hashtag awkward' date night in the local cinema, where even a smitten Archie is trying to win the same affections of Kendra.

After some soul searching, Evan realises who are the most important people in his life. His burgeoning feelings for Patrice also come to a head, along with the realities of teen-life, puberty and the challenges of growing up and making sense of the world.

13 contains some memorable and fun songs, performed with great energy from the large and diverse cast who are members of ST's Performing Arts Company. It's fantastic to see such confidence from many members of the cast - especially dealing with some technically difficult vocals. Some stand out performances include the title song 13/Becoming a Man, the boys R&B ode Hey Kendra, Patrice's powerful solo What it Means to be a Friend, Evan's cocky All Hail the Brain and the company's poignant finale A Little More Homework. The audience were also treated to eight of the cast performing a jazzy, but all-too-brief, tap dance during curtain call.

Speaking to director Dafydd White before opening night he said the cast have really enjoyed the whole process of bringing the musical together. "They've developed lots of the ensemble characters themselves and they've been incredibly creative. We have a large company with a small space so adapting numbers to fit has been a challenge. The cast have really taken on the heightened style and energy the show requires".

At a running time of just under two hours (80 per cent of it sung), it takes great focus from the 26-strong cast, who range in age from 12 to 17 years, to keep the show together. However, some of their efforts fall flat, not due to performance but rather the Elish/Horn script, which feels disjointed and trite in places. Apart from Evan, the narrative doesn't allow for much character development, leaving the cast to just conveniently move the audience from one song to the next.

This issue has dogged 13 since it first premiered in the US. Closing after just three months on its initial Broadway run, the show has been reworked several times but has yet to find its sweet spot. It is also an incredibly American story, so some of the lines/situations got a bit lost with the audience the night I saw it.

Overall, this incarnation of 13 is a fun tale of discovery and the all-too-familiar highs and lows of teenage life. There is a strong bond with the cast and their genuine enjoyment of performing together was palpable. A musical of this type is no easy feat to pull off but the ensemble kept it sufficiently humming - even with a few microphone level issues. There were moments when I wished I felt more and connected with the lead characters on a less perfunctory way but it may take a few more re-writes to truly get Robert Brown's work to what was originally intended.

If you have a teen family member or friend who thinks theatre is "so uncool" this may just be the show to change their mind. It also gives us 'adults' time to revel in the trying but ultimately rewarding years of our acne-ridden youth.

Producer: Nick Mills, Director: Dafydd White, Choreographer: Olivia Grobéty, Musical Director: Allison Bryan, Stage Manager: Hannah Drum, Set Designer: Laselo Barta

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