*** Great things happen in unseen places, thanks to unknown people on account of unexpected circumstances. That’s the unlikely setting for Corn Production’s brand new and nutty sketch comedy show, “The Best Musical Ever” under the direction of Maddi LeBlanc. Looking to find a “new era” of musical theater, the show is a reexamination of tried-and-true musical highlights from past generations, readapted by a younger, urban and hip noobs. Derived from genuinely clever writing and engaging performances, “The Best Musical Ever” is deeply silly but not an unserious show.
The title itself, “The Best Musical Ever” sounds like a branding job out of the White House Press Office. But right out of the gate, the audience is told, this will not be “topical.” That would be too “depressing!” And as the show unfolded, the packed audience (mostly 20-somethings) roared loudly, baiting this young, spontaneous ensemble of eleven actors to higher levels of crazy.
On its surface, the story is not complex. Imagine you are an intelligent, young person just starting out with tremendous passion and creativity. Your future as an artist is far from certain. You are working early mornings in a coffee shop with impatient, entitled customers. Justin Oliver Lance (played by Justin Oliver Lance), the artistic director of Corn Productions, is a regular at the shop. This is your break-through moment: you need to impress him and pitch your new ideas in the time it takes to make his coffee. And now, you will sit back and watch what happens.
With the help of customers, strangers, and even Justin himself, the baristas try everything they can think of to put on song and dance routines based on highlights from A Chorus Line, Cabaret, Wicked, Les Miserables, Beetlejuice, and more (13 routines in total). This fast-paced farce is dense in its musical lyrics. The words (Maddi LeBlanc and her team of writers below) are genuinely clever and seriously funny and gives the viewer a good insight into this emerging generation’s perceptions of the world they face. They take iconic songs and turn them on their heads. If the writing is good – and it is pretty consistent throughout this show – that’s a typically winning stand-up formula. This is a showcase for these eleven, young, spontaneous, high-energy comedic actors. There are song and dance routines about being an intern at a law firm, calling your mom for money, holding out for Tito’s, what I did for laughs, and on and on. Although the choreography (T Stigge) was a little rough at times and the confined staging (Max Lakavage) at moments was crowded, the impact and humor of it were constant. And it doesn’t stop for 75 minutes!
When the viewer peels off the generous layers of relentless pacing and laughter, you actually have an intelligent, compelling and timely idea. Standing before you are hard-working actors and writers in a theater company that must innovate and create on a financial shoestring. In place of the expensive props, costumes, and staging the well-endowed theaters can afford – the $40 Muppet puppet here being the one extravagance – the raw passion and commitment to live theater alone must carry the show without the costly gimmicks.
Minus these manipulative tricks, this nevertheless is a generous show packed with pleasures. What a great time the audience – and cast too! – had at the opening of “The Best Musical Ever.” Will they come up with an idea in time? Will Corn Productions go for it? It’s worth finding out and supporting a worthwhile neighborhood theater company that is contributing immeasurably to our community.
Corn Productions Presents:
“The Best Musical Ever”
Directed by Maddi LeBlanc
Choreography by T Stigge
Stage Management by Max Lakavage
Performed by: Emilia Barrosse, Ella Carson, Olivia Daly-Short, Faye Davis, Kaci Deakins, Kayce Drevline, Jake Gartung, Casey Joan Kollman, Justin Oliver Lance, Marie Molina, and Hope Valls.
Written by: Tom Cannan, Zach Flax, Maddi LeBlanc, Jamie Link, Heather Meyer, Jake Rhodes, Anthony Sanberg, Daniel Sequin, Max Valdes, and Deana Velandra.
Cornservatory Theater
4210 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
Schedule: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm through August 1.
Tickets and Information: www.cornservatory.org
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Best Musical Ever”.
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