Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Annie Golden leads Joe Iconis’s excessively silly BROADWAY BOUNTY HUNTER, and she’s fierce

• By drediman
• July 25, 2019
• No Comments

Annie Golden and the company of Joe Iconis’s “Broadway Bounty Hunter” at the Greenwich House Theater. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

This week, Joe Iconis’s new musical Broadway Bounty Hunter opened Off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theater, starring Annie Golden in the title role. Before gaining recognition as a featured actress in the hit television series “Orange Is the New Black”, Ms. Golden was a known commodity among theater folks, having starred in such now-classic musicals as Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins (her vocals as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme on the cast album’s “Worthy of Your Love” track will be forever ingrained in my mind), as well as the film-to-stage adaptations of David Yazbek’s The Full Monty and the deliriously goofy Xanadu.

Mr. Iconis’s musical theater sensibility may not be for everyone. Indeed, his Be More Chill – which shutters on Broadway in two weeks time – divided both critics and audiences alike due to its insistently juvenile point of view (count me a fan). For better or worse, Broadway Bounty Hunter follows the same formula, telling the mighty silly story of a struggling actress of a certain age (Ms. Golden meta-theatrically playing Ms. Golden in an alternate universe) recruited to become a bounty hunter (!). Largely, the show is a B-movie brought to excessively cartoonish theatrical life. If the original story (the broadly comic book is a collaboration between pals Jason SweetTouth, Lance Rubin, and Mr. Iconis) is pure escapist fluff, I was nonetheless consistently entertained, thanks largely to Mr. Iconis’s joyous and accomplished 70s-inspired score.

The production has been directed and choreographed by Jennifer Werner with a scrappy, clear downtown aesthetic, and that works just fine for the piece. I suspect that Broadway Bounty Hunter was never intended for the Great White Way, and it may just find a steady fan base Off-Broadway for the balance of its planned run. Leading the way is the fierce Ms. Golden, who commands the stage with her quirky, uncompromising presence and distinctive, undiminished voice. She plays herself with a disarming awe-shucks charm that had me from the get go. She’s provided support by a smallish, hardworking cast; of particular note is Tony-nominee Brad Oscar, who almost steals the show (again) as the musical’s hilariously zany villain.

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BROADWAY BOUNTY HUNTER
Off-Broadway, Musical
Greenwich House Theater
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through September 15