john & jen
Rebekah Dahl and Luther Chakurian, veterans of Masquerade Theatre, work sheer magic on Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald's mundane 1995 off-Broadway tuner. (Lippa would later compose the more mature and satisfying Jazz Age-themed The Last Party.) Although the two-character musical john & jen sometimes soars with moments of poignancy and humor, in the end, it's strictly paint-by-numbers. The show is so predictable, you can tell the tenor of the songs by their very titles: "Welcome to the World," "Think Big," "The Road Ends Here," "Every Goodbye Is Hello." Act I concerns Jen and her younger brother John's conflicts with an abusive father; their staunch, united defiance; their inevitable growing apart as age defines them; and their last fight before John ships out to Vietnam. In Act II, single-mother Jen raises her son John, her brother's namesake, as she attempts to come to terms with the past and see that her son is kept safe from harm. The sibling-parent conflicts move from A to B with a sketchy patness that flattens our involvement. The music is clever, if unmemorable, but there's ample room for the two pros to put across this stale material with affecting verve and needed dash. While the musical line lies about three notes higher than comfort, Dahl eats into the score and conquers by sheer dramatic power. And Chakurian shows a welcome softer side, which is a good thing and long overdue. Through March 19 at Masquerade Theatre, 1537 North Shepherd, 713-861-7045.
