BWW Reviews: Wonderfully Wacky GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL at American Stage

Last week during a trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, I was able to see the actual Gutenberg Bible. I stared at it, mouth agape in awe, knowing that this book before me--the first great book printed from movable metal type--marked the turning point that shifted the Middle Ages to our modern world.

As I stared at the prized Gutenberg Bible, a thought hit me: I will be seeing a musical based on Gutenberg in a few days, and as grand as this Bible ultimately is, its maker doesn't seem the type of subject matter that would make a riveting song revue. Paint Drying: The Musical sounds more exciting. This isn't young lovers coming of age, or the beloved story from a classic French novel, or a bunch of cats being, well, cats. This is Gutenberg, the man responsible for the modern age, the man voted the #1 person of the past millennium.

He's also probably the most boring person to base a musical on, which is precisely the point. Creators Scott Brown and Anthony King were looking for an unnecessary historical storyline that would make one entertainingly god-awful musical. And they found it with the rip-roaring GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL, American Stage's hilarious two-man musical that has to be one of the wackiest shows I have ever had the pleasure to see.

The show is really not about Gutenberg; it's about two down on their luck creators, Doug Simon and Bud Davenport, who have written a "classic" musical based on the life of Johann Gutenberg, even though they know nothing about him outside of a lightning fast Google search. The show is treated as a backer's audition where the two men play all of the roles in the faux musical they've created (the audience plays the part of potential backers). With songs entitled "Monk Like Me," "Haunted German Wood" and the Act 1 showstopper, "Tomorrow Is Tonight" (a really good-bad version of every Act 1 closer, like "One Day More" on mushrooms), you can't go wrong. GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL is beyond a hoot (should we call it a meta-hoot?); it's like [title of show] meets Waiting for Guffman, and just as accurately funny as that sounds.

But a crazy show like this can't work without strong performers, and this one has one of our area's brightest lights in Matthew McGee as Doug Simon. GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL plays into Mr. McGee's break-the-fourth-wall strengths; it's like it was written for him. He possess a dynamite singing voice, and his crack comic timing is spot on. This is the ultimate McGee role, the one that keeps the audience falling out of their seats laughing. I've seen him in various incarnations over the years, and this is one of his strongest turns yet. (I look forward to seeing his Mame at freeFall this summer; with the year he's having--from the memorable Into the Woods Narrator to the multiple personalities in GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL finally to Mame--he should get an award for versatility. We are very lucky to have this force of nature in our area.)

Equally as good, if not quite as zany (but who could be?), Joey Panek is superb as Bud Davenport. There is something sweet in his Helvetica (the chesty femme fatale) and deliciously evil in his interpretation of the Antagonist Monk. Like McGee, his versatility knows no bounds. And he has an exquisite singing voice whether playing a man or woman.

The set is nonexistent (on purpose) and the lighting works fine. The actors show their various incarnations by wearing hats with the character's names on them; this includes a Chorus Line routine with hats on a clothesline that should not be missed. And the song "Might as Well (Go to Hell)" is complete with little rodent puppets (it reminded me of a demented, low-rent version of freeFall's Fiddler on the Roof, which if you recall was also done with animal puppets). The director, Steven Flaa, keeps the show moving and knows when to let the actors take over and play. Rehearsals must have been a blast because the show is the funniest I've seen all year. It's a brilliantly realized production.

There's a third character in the show, Charlie the Piano Player, played by David Estevez in the performance I saw. He keeps the show's brisk pace from ever letting up; it's one of the fastest moving productions you'll ever witness.

Although you recall laughing in a frenzy, the show itself doesn't really stay with you (the songs are hilarious but not that memorable...there isn't that one catchy infect-my-brain melody in all of the glorious badness). Also, a song list in the program would help. I know it's not a "traditional" show and part of the joy is the surprise of these stupid songs, but I always think a song list is a smart idea so we don't have to be like Simon and Davenport and Google the songs after the show.

I know that GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL is not for everyone's taste. I was laughing throughout, sometimes until my eyes watered, but some audience members looked perplexed. Did they not get The Exorcist 360-degree head routine homage? Were they so out of touch that they got upset with Doug Simon equating Marco Rubio with the evil guys in the musical? Were they lost in all of the musical theatre allusions (like the West Side Story Tony-Maria finger snaps) and the smart-silly songs, one actually about eating biscuits? Whatever the case, they didn't get it, which is shame because this is one funny show, funnier than anything you'll find on television or the movies. Thinking about it still makes me laugh. If nothing else, it's the only musical that I know of that has the audacity of rhyming the word "feces" with "squeeze these." The show is complete piffle, but it's grinningly outrageous and winningly delightful as well.

GUTENBERG: THE MUSICAL runs through April 5th. For tickets, please call (727) 823-PLAY (7529).

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