Is the universe ordered or chaotic and, in either case, how does this condition affect our everyday lives?
For Sonny Tatulio, a middle-aged musician who has been driven to the brink, and Dr. Maggie McBride, his therapist, the answers are: both and directly.
Beneath the seeming randomness of their lives there is a reason they’ve been brought together and to believe “Something’s Going On” – a phrase which holds the triple-duty of being the theme and title of this world premiere musical and the name of the new production company behind it.
Principles, playwrights, and performers Jim Mossutto and Sherrie Scott take us on a journey of discovery from the typical doctor-patient relationship to one of profound spiritual connection by intertwining real stories, dreams, flashbacks, and visions within the context of a play with 12 songs.
Adorned only in a top hat and sneakers, with his nakedness hidden by a sign that reads, “Something’s Going On,” Sonny is ready to jump off a Times Square ledge on Halloween night. Like Vesuvius, Mossuto’s Sonny is boiling over with anxieties that pour forth in a flow of descriptive, free-associative imagery and prescient pronouncements.
Even as Sonny zeroes in on her own bottled-up secrets, Maggie, ever the proper doctor, keeps her cool and gently questions her patient, joining in his game of pulling real-life stories from his top hat in an effort to draw him out of his precipitous state.
After Maggie prescribes a piano for her patient, and gradually warms up to Sonny’s musical statements and rambling raps, the tables turn. Now it’s Mossuto who shows Sonny’s own penchant for insightful analysis, while Scott brings Maggie out her shell, singing and sharing her own troubles.
Mossuto’s inventive, jazzy compositions, augmented by his stylish keyboard wizardry, and Scott’s soulful, smoky vocals argue strongly for the therapeutic effect the music has on Sonny and Maggie. (Both of the actors contributed compositions to the production.)
The dramatic arc is a rabbit out of a hat as well. Sonny’s early stream-of-consciousness meanderings leave us wondering whether chaos might not win the day both in the story and in our experience of it.
But the music steps up and, in a strong second act, Mossuto and Scott weave a tapestry of details that are heartwarming and surprising, leaving us to reflect on the magic of our own lives.
“Something’s Going On” follows the Theatre Café’s recent experiments as an alternative cabaret-style venue, offering appetizers, dinner, dessert and a full bar. The café’s willingness to take a chance on Mossuto, Scott, and producer and co-director Chip Frye’s offbeat approach bodes well for the DCPA’s growing ambitions as one of the best-equipped and diverse performing arts centers in the world.
Bob Bows also reviews theater for Variety, for KUVO/89.3 FM, and for his own website. He can be reached at BBows@ColoradoDrama.com. For a longer version of this review, go to www.ColoradoDrama.com.
“Something’s Going On” | *** RATING
MUSICAL|Theatre Café, Denver Performing Arts Complex, presented by Something’s Going On Productions|Written by Jim Mossuto and Sherrie Scott|Directed by Sherrie Scott and Chip Frye|Starring Jim Mossuto and Sherrie Scott |THROUGH DEC. 2|8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays|2 hours |$25|303-623-7733; student, senior and group discounts available.
