REVIEW: Mid-life! The Crisis Musical (Metropolis Arts Centre)

Still in need of some ‘crisis’ management

 

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre presents

Mid-life! The Crisis Musical

By Bob Walton and Jim Walton Directed by Robin M. Hughes at MPAC, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights (map) Through June 19 | Tickets: $35-$43 |  more info

Reviewed by Leah A. Zeldes

Hot flashes, varicose veins, dimming vision, escaping memories, philandering husbands … these are the subjects of Mid-life! The Crisis Musical, currently at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. The opening number offers a laundry list of the pains of the 40s and 50s … and the rest of this overlong show, like middle age itself, goes downhill from there.

Less a musical than a revue, the show quickly becomes repetitive, with the litany of the first song expanded in a series of thematic songs and skits. The humor expends itself rapidly — these are all jokes we’ve heard before. (And much of the opening-day audience at Metropolis not only lived through them but also at least a decade or two beyond.)

The funniest number, "What Did I Come In Here For?" comically details the problems of short-term memory loss. A mid-life translator interprets the frustrations of aging husbands ("I want to sleep with other women") to their weepy, menopausal wives and vice versa. "He Got What He Deserves" (a low-budget version of "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago) suggests that two-timing, middle-aged lotharios get their just rewards, a sadly untrue contention.

Some of the bits are just plain dumb, like one about a singing mammogram. "The Long Goodbye," a song about the difficulties of caring for elderly parents in senile dementia had the potential to be poignant, but the writers went for cheap laughs instead.

The cast, portraying six nameless middle-aged characters, carries through well, with good timing and fine moves, yet they can’t add much to such lightweight material. Dennis Brown‘s cockney accent seemed a bit distracting, though, and the women — Kate Brown, Elizabeth Haley and Katie Miller — all appear too young for the roles they’re supposed to be playing. Costume Designer Cathy Tantillo apparently tried to address this by putting them in frumpy knee-length khaki skirts with unattractive hem-line borders and maroon tops that emphasize bulges.

Scott Alan Emerick, 41, looks a bit on the youthful side, too, especially in a "Weekend Warriers" skit that portrays him as being the same age as the older men. Haley and David Elliott bring notable voices to their performances, but the music – peppy and uncomplicated – doesn’t give them much scope. (Hear samples on the website.)

Robin M. Hughes uses a rear-stage video screen to introduce each number in a singularly uncreative use of high tech. The videos, mostly ugly, do nothing that wouldn’t have been more effective in live sequences … even an actor just carrying a sign across the stage.

Michael Gehmlich and Adam Veness have constructed an interesting multilevel staircase set, with two proscenium arches studded with 156 lights. It’s a pity that Christie Kerr’s uninspired choreography doesn’t make better use of it.

Getting old may be no joke, but Mid-life! The Crisis Musical won’t do much to lift your spirits.

Rating: ★★

 

The Cast

Dennis Brown (Man 2)
Kate Brown (Woman 3)
David Elliott (Man 3)
Scott Emerick (Man 1)
Liz Haley (Woman 2)
Katie Miller (Woman 1)
Mark Anderson (Man 1 u/s)
David Belew (Man 2 & 3 u/s)
Nancy Kolton (Woman 3 u/s)
Lisa Savegnago (Woman 1 & 2 u/s)

Artistic Team

Robin M. Hughes, Director/ Artistic Director/Director of Production
Micky York, Music Director
Christie Kerr, Choreographer
Carly Hengels, Resident Stage Manager
Mike Wagner, Assistant Stage Manager
Michael Gehmlich, Resident Technical Director/Co-Scenic Designer
Adam Veness, Co-Scenic Designer
Bill Franz, Resident Sound Designer
Joe Mohamed, Resident Lighting Designer
Cathy Tantillo, Costume Designer
Nick Heggestad, Properties Designer