In ‘Label•less,’ every monologue is followed by a song. The music always wins
8 / 10
Rent closed in 2008, but you wouldn’t know it from walking into the Duke on 42nd Street for Label•less, Drew and Lea Lachey’s pop-music Gen Z tribute. Staged on mobile scaffold units, the devised work features hits from Sam Cooke to Lady Gaga, performed by an exuberant cast determined to say something. While the words often fall flat, the voices soar. And when Lea trusts her dancers with the level of choreography they’re capable of, Label•less strikes a propulsive chord that proves the next generation of musical theater performers is ready for its close-up.
