Review: GOLDEN RECORDS at Capitol Musical Theatre, Wroclaw

For me, the essence of a good musical is sharing a story in a musical environment. As we all know, things happen better or worse, and even if all the elements are correct, something is missing. What did I think of Golden Records? Nothing is missing, on the contrary, I found many things there unexpectedly and was only lost in the cosmic abyss of goodness.

Let's start with a story that puts science on stage. Carl Sagan was responsible for gathering the material that would be sent from planet Earth during the Voyager mission in 1977. It is not easy to describe a human existence through a few pieces of music and censored photos. As if that wasn't enough, Carl struggles with his desire for the woman who stands in his way. He doesn't fight very hard, which is also a source of entertainment, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

The idea of bringing back that NASA atmosphere from the 70s is great, the superb costumes by Justyna Elminowska make the atmosphere super realistic, I wasn't born yet but that's exactly how I imagine it. It’s not just the turtleneck sweater and corduroy pants that belong to this era. All the artists are taken from photographs from almost 50 years ago. Helena Sujecka with her curls, bouncy step, and laid-back charm; Rafal Derkacz with his uncompromising mustache and I'm shy but I'm a leader; Albert Pysk with the fantastic attitude of a confident macho in bell bottoms and sunglasses (and perfect rendition of Love Hurts); tireless and strong (wait for the end!), despite all adversities, the mysterious Katarzyna Pietruska; Michal Zborowski who is, in reality, the definition of the link between power and censorship; Emose Uhunmwangho who undoubtedly reigns supreme not only in the scientific field. In this context, they are all like perfect pieces of a puzzle that make up a great evening. If you add fantastic music to that, it couldn't be better. Well, it is!

Because then it appears in a cloak of stars: a Sense of Humor. I've never laughed so hard on Capitol Hill. The convention of the lightness of the subject and the wonderful atmosphere of the 1970s are embellished with a large dose of humor in the dialogues, and Emose makes his lectures something so incredible that it is difficult to describe. I tried to repeat her jokes to a friend and only embarrassed myself, so go listen to her explain the symbols on the gold discs. She's like a real NASA rocket that keeps going up into the sky.

Expect great voices, music, atmosphere, and humor. This show also effortlessly presents how small we are in the universe only to suddenly realize how microscopic our problems are on a grand scale. This gives us a perfect sense of distance and allows us to look at the whole human race from a different perspective, especially when this race wants to hide some of its dark side from the aliens (as if they would care). What is the role of biology, science, and art in the history of humanity? What do we want to think about ourselves?

The director, Mateusz Pakula, did an amazing job and with a snap of his fingers (or visualizations of the space at the beginning), allocated us at different times and directly in a story. He does it flawlessly, as if thanks to a time machine and a whiff, you are in 1977.

The audience resonates with the whole show! There is foottaping during songs and laughter after jokes. The visuals (Olga Balowska) and lights (Paulina Goral) are like the icing on this delicious pie, they take your breath away like in Berlin’s song. There are so many good things about the show: music, costumes, vibes, and an incredible story. Go experience it, and even if it's to hear Emose's jokes and see the fight in slow motion I promise you won't regret it!

Photo: Lukasz Giza

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