Heartbreaker
Lyric Theatre is premiering the Black Death rock musical “When We’re Gone.”
No matter the place or period they’re fated to live and die, humans tend to believe the world is always falling apart. One young man’s struggle to decide how to live his life during tumultuous times is the always-timely topic of “When We’re Gone,” Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma’s world premiere Black Death rock musical.
Yes, you read that correctly: “When We’re Gone” is a musical with a raucous pop, punk and emo score set in London in 1349 as the black plague makes its devastatingly unwelcome debut. And yes, that means the performers wail away on electric guitars while basking in the colorful glare of rock concert-style lighting about 530 years before electric lights were invented and about 580 years before guitarists started plugging in.
In case the premise comes across as too quirky for its own good, let me state unequivocally that “When We’re Gone” is a gripping and gut-punching drama about universal issues like growing up, parting ways with your parents, setting your priorities, coping with mortality and dealing with suffering. The score might induce headbanging, but the story is heartbreaking.
The New York-based writing team of Alana Jacoby (who penned the book and lyrics) and Scotty Arnold (who composed the music) have spent nearly nine years developing the unique musical, dating back to their days as students in New York University’s musical theater writing graduate program. Although I’m sure it was trying to work through, the long gestation process seems to have been a blessing for the coming-of-age story, as it’s hard to imagine a show this high-concept and densely layered told as maturely by a couple of 20-somethings.
Helmed by Lyric Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron, “When We’re Gone” follows Todd (John Furey in his Lyric Theatre debut), an angstridden teenager trying to figure out his life in plagueridden London. His normal adolescent anxieties are heightened by the specter of death looming so large, especially since his best pal and brother in rock ‘n’ roll John (Van Hughes, also making his first Lyric appearance) succumbed to the horrific disease. Often to Todd’s consternation, John narrates the show from beyond the grave.
The first act especially is modeled on a 14th-century morality play, as John dons the persona of Death, dubs Todd “Everyman” and instructs him to choose what he will make of his life from four set paths. Their band’s passionate lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Ashton (Derrick Medrano), who is determined to make music that will outlive them no matter when they die, represents Art, while Colin (Antonio Rodriguez), a former bandmate who has become a doctor and is training Todd in the art of fighting the plague with herbs and bloodletting, signifies Service.
Thoughtful Rosie (Kat Metcalfe in her Lyric debut), whose family owns the tavern where the band performs, embodies Love for Todd, and his hard line, churchgoing father William (Lyric mainstay Matthew Alvin Brown) characterizes Piety.
As the troubled teenager desperately tries to suss out the right path through song, the story becomes steadily more contemporary. The message becomes clearer that life, with all its unpredictable players, unspeakable pain and undeniable beauty, refuses to follow anything as tidy as a clear path.
Aside from some brief Gregorian chants, from the sonic perspective, songs like the title track, “Could Anything Be Worse” and “We All Fall Down” wouldn’t sound out of place on a radio playlist between Green Day and Paramore, their musical theater trappings notwithstanding. More importantly, they are potent storytelling anthems, performed so commandingly by the six actors, as well as the seven-piece rock band under the direction of James Dobinson that even a few microphone issues on opening night couldn’t hold them back.
“When We’re Gone” is a stellar entry in Lyric’s ongoing New Works Initiative, dedicated to shepherding new titles to the stage for the first time, and the theater’s stalwart creative team — resident costume designer Jeffrey Meek, scenic designer Adam Koch and lighting designer Helena Kuukka, along with sound designer Sam Kusnetz in his Lyric bow — do their part to ensure that the Black Death rock musical comes powerfully to life.