With the election getting closer every day, the country's most pressing political issues are on everyone’s minds. Theatre for the New City turns to folk music to tackle some of the biggest issues deciding today’s political climate in its new play The Folk Singer.
The play opens with Don Riverton (Andy Striph), a struggling musician, bemoaning the dwindling popularity of folk music to his girlfriend, Kim (Micha Lazare). In an attempt to revive interest in his genre, he gathers a group of local fellow folk singers, including Zack Roberts (Nick McGuiness) and Todd Ramsey (Matthew Angel), to put on a folk festival. Determined to address a plethora of modern issues, ranging from cell phone woes to the deep division between political parties, the group writes a host of original songs. With Kim’s help, Don arranges to film the festival and promote it on social media, hoping that it turns into a viral hit that puts folk back at the forefront of the music scene. Setting the festival in Frank (Larry Fleischman)’s local restaurant, Don’s plan turns into a huge success.
The play’s first few scenes hint at a potentially charming plot line, but the story quickly gives way to the festival itself, which makes up the bulk of the show’s runtime. Though the festival itself has some great moments, it lacks in terms of plot and character. The potential story becomes merely a framing device for the celebration of folk music, sacrificing the development of a truly compelling narrative. Playwright and lyricist Tom Attea compensates for the lack of overarching plot with topical skits that punctuate the musical performances to highlight some of the festival’s key issues.
Those issues the festival chooses to tackle are largely inoffensive, as the songs decry universally hated topics such as terrorism without a fresh perspective to present a more nuanced take on today’s politics. The wide variety of topics allows for a great range in tone. The festival moves from a sad reflection on a war memorial to a chat about human nature told against a backdrop of America’s funniest home videos that gives the show more levity. However, this range prevents the show from delivering a solid or profound statement, as it glosses over too many topics to develop a specific theme.
Despite this, some of the festival’s songs created lovely moments. As folk singer Brittany, Olivia Griffin’s take on love in the modern age created a beautifully sung emotion. Under Mark Marcante’s direction, the performances have some great moments. Andy Striph in particular shines as the show’s affable protagonist, and he does a great job presenting his role as festival director. Overall, the play lacks in overall cohesiveness, but delivers in moments of emotional insight.
