Meta-theater shows are a dime a dozen these days. Plays about trying to write a show, trying to put on a show, or trying to be in a show are having a meta moment in the sun, often breaking down the fourth wall to bring the audience in on the joke. Currently, on Broadway, there’s Something Rotten, Shows For Days, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. That’s not to mention The Producers and A Chorus Line. Let’s face it: Theater people love to talk about theater. HeadVoice, currently running as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, may not exactly live up to its big name contemporaries, but it’s on a path in the right direction.
Ethan Andersen, writer and music director, plays Eric, a charismatic young man who is trying to compose a musical about his life. Born in New Orleans (and if you think that doesn’t come back to haunt him in the end, you’re dead wrong) to a single mother (dad left), he found his purpose in music (a little bit of Avenue Q anyone?), and took the obligatory trip to New York City, where his dream of being a Writer of Musicals solidified. The only thing missing from this trope is the part where he discovers that girls are icky (although that’s hinted at a couple of time).
Aside from the usual problems plaguing playwrights—can’t figure out which song to open with, where to insert the obligatory love story, and how he is going to deal with the pesky question of his mother—Eric is literally battling with the voices in his head. So much so that he actually talks to them…and they talk back! And sing and dance. They even have names and personalities. Izzy (Katie Emerson) is the voice most likely to want to party and flirt, the bright-eyed ingénue who will do a sultry dance on top of the piano, then clumsily half fall off. Ian (Matthew Summers) is the slightly dorky voice who plays adolescent Eric in the rehearsal of the musical about his life. Then there’s Susan (Nicole Dalto), the sarcastic yet practical voice of Eric’s mother, or at least the one nagging at him to be honest and tell the truth in his story.
Director Charlie Johnson manages to keep the sparse yet mobile set moving, which creates the sense of there being more people and action onstage instead of just four actors, a piano, a door and some chairs. The actors move with the set pieces (and some cleverly placed props) and fill the space well, while they deliver the smart, self-referential dialogue with wit and humor. Andersen’s script is full of winks to the audience, music- and dialogue-wise, and familiar tropes are used deliberately. References to popular shows are what most liken HeadVoice to the aforementioned Something Rotten. But there’s a heavier, more serious undertone to the former that’s hinted at throughout the show, and finally revealed with a tender and moving ballad at the end.
Andersen and co. take the cliché of the young wide-eyed musical theater nerd (as a fellow MTN, I say that with affection) obsessed with moving to the big city and writing a show that means something to a place that reveals a lot of heart. Beyond the fluff, beyond the glitz, beyond the sexy ingénues and dazzling dances, there’s a story to tell. And if it’s honest and true, it’ll be good.
