BWW Reviews: BARE A POP OPERA at Clandestine Arts

While some might complement Clandestine-Arts' production of BARE: A POP OPERA for its "can-do" attitude, there's a difference between the type of youthful naivety that leads to theater that is exciting and new, and the type of reckless abandon that is at best moderately amusing and at worst incredibly dangerous. That is to say, there's nothing wrong with upstart theater company Clandestine-Arts' creative vision of producing emotion-driven musicals with low budgets, but theater is an incredibly technical art form. Whether the venue is a Broadway 2,000 seater, a high school auditorium, or a hole in the wall black box in Adams Morgan, there is never an excuse for a production so shoddily put together that the audience can reasonably fear for the performers safety, as well as their own; especially not at the admission price Clandestine is charging. At the end of the day, what really seems to be lacking is a sense of adult supervision.

As can be expected from a production of this sort, BARE's technical aspects are rough to say the least. The grungy set consists of four cleverly painted stained glass windows, (unfortunately, two of these fell during the performance), a thirteen-foot ladder conspicuously chained to the wall, actor cubes, and a crucifix hanging overhead. The loudest set pieces used are the plethora of aluminum trash cans that are moved around by the actors in between each scene. It is rarely clear exactly what type of furniture these trash cans seek to represent, but even if it was it wouldn't make their dreadful clanging noise any less distracting. The lighting is just as confounding, with some actors resorting to running across the stage in order to get to their spotlight on time, while others performed their entire songs in complete darkness with random, empty patches of the stage brightly illuminated for no particular reason.

The trend continued with sound, as each member of the cast had a microphone strapped to their face, none of which seemed to actually be on. Not that this really posed an issue, the space is too small to warrant amplification and without a live band to worry about it's not as if the singers have anything to compete with, but the fact that the mics often slipped out of place, (and then stayed there for the rest of the night), didn't make their presence any less obtrusive. As for the musical accompaniment, the notion that anything that sells itself with the word "opera" would use a backing track in lieu of live musicians is surely more blasphemous than what the show has to say about religion. That being said, the singers managed the backing tracks well and the only real mistakes happened when the wrong track started playing at the wrong time.

As for the singing, however, it is almost surprisingly impeccable. Music director Brandon Scott Heishman, (who also plays the priest), has coached the cast well for an incredibly sure performance of this complex score. The ensemble singing is spot on and sounds beautiful throughout. Sadly, that doesn't always hold true for many of the solo performances. Both in the leads and supporting roles, while everyone can certainly sing, many performances fall flat and suffer from a nervously monotone performance that jars with the heartfelt nature of the songs.

On the other hand, the cast has several strong highlights. Brittany Washington brings energy, range and versatility to the role of Nadia McConnell, while her counterpart Kayleigh Marie Brennan is absolutely electrifying as Ivy Robinson. A clear audience favorite is vocal powerhouse Rikki Howie Lacewell who brings down the house with a hysterical and touching turn as Sister Chantelle.

Perhaps the issue lies with the source material. BARE is unrefined teenage angst and high school drama, and fifteen years since its debut has a niche appeal at best. It panders too much to appeal to today's youth, and is too on the nose for adults to enjoy it nostalgically. Written by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo, the almost completely sung-through, pop/rock infused show centers around Peter Simmonds, (Clandestine's young founder, artistic director, and BARE producer-director-designer-choreographer Derek Critzer has placed himself in the lead role), a gay senior at a Catholic boarding school. Peter's very much in love with his boyfriend Jason McConnell, (played by Tyler Everett Adams, who appears uncomfortable in the role), but much to his dismay, Jason is determined to remain in the closet indefinitely and their relationship must stay a closely guarded secret. The conflict between the two comes to a boil when they land roles in the high school play, Romeo and Juliet, (inevitably resulting in the entire cast donning tights for the final act--one of many unnecessary, time-consuming costume changes), during which all the hidden drama will rise to the surface. Along the way, the kids encounter drugs and alcohol, sex and betrayal, along with all the other usual pitfalls.

BARE: A POP OPERA is definitely entertaining enough, and risk-taking audiences won't find themselves bored, but much like the teenaged characters, Clandestine-Arts is still in its infancy. No one can doubt the passion on stage or the potential behind the scenes, but their DC area debut simply isn't ready for paying audiences.

Photo from www.clandestinedc.com.

Runtime is approximately two hours and fifteen minutes, with one fifteen minute intermission.

Clandestine Arts presents BARE: A POP OPERA, playing through March 1, 2015 at the District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC) - 2438 18th Street, in Washington, DC. Tickets are $22 and $18 for DCAC members. Tickets can be purchased at www.clandestinedc.com or at the door.