Bringing the absurd to life
Music Music Life Death Music: An Absurdical
K (out of 4) Book, lyrics and music by Adam Seelig. Directed by Adam Seelig. Until June 10 at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace, 30 Bridgman Ave. OneLittleGoat.org or 416-531-1827
Toronto’s One Little Goat Theatre is perhaps the city’s toughest to pin down; every new production, and there’s one about every year, is an entirely different venture.
The company’s introduction to the scene was a quartet of Israeli radio plays in 2003, followed by a post-Sept. 11 re-envisioning of the Sophocles tragedy Antigone. Most recently, One Little Goat and its artistic director, Adam Seelig, rediscovered a 1970 absurdist play from Quebec, The Charge of the Expormidable Moose, created a children’s show about theatre history and made headlines last year with a theatrical reading of the OPP interrogation of killer Russell Williams.
Now, Seelig and One Little Goat are back with another production that’s extremely rare in Toronto theatre: Music Music
Life Death Music is a brand new musical, composed, written and directed by Seelig himself. Or should we say, an “absurdi- cal,” as it’s described in its subtitle — in line with One Little Goat’s penchant for off-kilter stories and speeches, trading realism for poetic rhythms and metaphors.
Though previous One Little Goat productions have been highly musical, this is the first show that officially blends story with music, and Seelig manages to impress and surprise once again. Besides being the pressure of being sole creator, he also plays piano alongside Lynette Gillis on the drums, Joshua Skye Engel on guitar and Tyler Emond, who’s also the musical director, on bass.
Seelig finds an easy transition into writing words to be sung rather than spoken, and there’s an interesting symmetry in the dialogue of an intergenerational family confronting each other at midnight. Just as they’re settling down to a romantic evening in, husband and wife JJ (Richard Harte) and DD (Jennifer Villaverde) are interrupted by DD’s mother B (Theresa Tova), who then wakes up JJ and DD’s son PP (Sierra Holder), a teenager who’s going through an existential phase.
Seelig’s recurring theme is repetition and cycles: in music, in language, in generations and even in the living room artwork, depicting the waning phases of the moon on Jackie Chau’s stylish set.
From her name, it’s clear that Seelig places B as the original figure; her family is another copy, another generation. And as this generation moves on without her, B feels increasingly moved to ensure that her family’s legacy, most importantly the story of her immigrant father and her Jewish heritage, is understood and appreciated.
Tova’s performance is imposing and brash but movingly vulnerable when she senses her family pushing back. B’s a tough figure, a woman worthy of respect and attention, but taxing, insensitive and unashamed of her politically incorrect moments. Villaverde has a plum role, showing off her vocal skills and her comedic chops as B’s long-suffering daughter.
But in terms of the overall production, Seelig could have used a workshop or two to deepen the character relationships, find the right balance between absurd comedy and taut drama, and streamline the score to ensure that all songs are not only catchy or pleasing but move the story along.
Music Music Life Death Music may not be a smash hit, but it’s another ambitious move from an interesting company.