THE HANGOVER REPORT – Dave Malloy’s soulful a cappella musical OCTET is odd but spellbinding

The company of Signature Theatre Company's production of "Octet" by Dave Malloy. Photo by Joan Marcus.

The company of Signature Theatre Company’s production of “Octet” by Dave Malloy. Photo by Joan Marcus.

One of the most unique musicals to open so far this year is Dave Malloy’s Octet, which is currently running Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center, courtesy of Signature Theatre Company. Mr. Malloy is perhaps best known for penning one of the most ravishing musicals of recent years, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, a stage adaptation of a segment of Tolstoy’s mammoth “War and Peace”, which unfortunately played for just a short while on the Great White Way.

In comparison, Octet is a more curious beast that belongs squarely Off-Broadway. The piece is a song cycle that juxtaposes contemporary society’s addiction to technology with the unadorned human voice. That’s right, Mr. Malloy has written an a cappella musical that explores our obsessive behavior when it comes to our devices (whether it be social media, online dating/hookups, porn, etc.). There’s something disarming about the prospect of using only the human voice to dissect this relatively recent phenomenon in human history. There’s no denying the gorgeous harmonies of Mr. Malloy’s rich score, although the lack of musical variety at times allows for a certain rhapsodic sameness to creep in (not necessarily a bad thing). Nevertheless, I was largely spellbound by the oddness and inexplicable beauty of it all.

The piece has been directed by Annie Tippe as a sort of speakeasy therapy session, during which – one-by-one – participants are asked, ahem, to sing about their addictions. As for the production, once again juxtaposition reigns, as Brittany Vasta’s meticulously detailed scenic design is set against the heightened, transcendent musical storytelling by Mr. Malloy (he wrote the show’s music, lyrics, and book). The game cast is excellent, and they sound simply mesmerizing. With the clearly commercial aims of In Transit – another a instrument-less musical – a few seasons back, I had mixed feelings about the fruitfulness of the “a cappella musical”. However, Octet has opened up for me the more soulful and poetic possibilities of the very niche form.

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OCTET
Off-Broadway, Musical
Signature Theatre Company
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 30

 

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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