People love bad musicals -- and I'm not talking about the shows that run for years. I mean the epic flops that tend to attract camp cult worshipers in direct proportion to how awful they are: Whoop-Up, Carrie, The Dance of the Vampires, and so on, ad infinitum.
What's That Smell? The Music of Jacob Sterling is a witty Off-Broadway show about the oeuvre of the fictional, titular composer-lyricist, whose reach far exceeds his grasp. During the proceedings, we're treated to several samples of Jacob's output, one more frightening than the next.
When the opportunity came for me to interview the show's co-star and co-author, David Pittu, I initially thought it would be fun to talk to him in the guise of his character, the clueless Sterling. But then I realized -- that's exactly what the show is. So I addressed him as himself in our discussion of bad musicals, and I started by asking him what exactly makes Sterling so pathetic.
"I guess it's the sense of desperation that clings to him," Pittu answers after a moment's reflection. "That plus his lack of awareness of what the world really needs, as opposed to what he thinks it needs. Jacob is working for an audience that may or may not exist. He sifts through all the clichés -- what it means to be in love, to live in New York, to be Jewish -- and he still insists on writing about them. They've been done to death, but he just has to put his stamp on them.
"Jacob is not intelligent in the way of a true artist, but I think his type of writer is a lot more common than we want to admit. Look at Broadway today. The same emotions get sung in each new musical, to the point where the audience checks out and they just watch the color and movement. Nothing is really being said."
In What's That Smell?, we get to hear a number from a show that Jacob has written about 9/11. Of course, it's appalling. But would it be possible even for a genius like Stephen Sondheim to write a worthy musical about that unforgettable day?
"I think the question is why you would want to do it," Pittu responds. "Unless you have a particular story to tell, why make the attempt? You can make a musical about anything, but if the story is a true tragedy, it might be better suited to opera. Jacob's mistake is that he co-opts a major world event and tries to interpret it for the masses. I find that endearing on one level, but also rather cringey."
What's does Pittu consider to be the recipe for a really bad musical?. "Some of the worst ideas are when people take something like `Gone With the Wind,' which is perfect as it is, and try to adapt it as a musical. Why set yourself up for failure? I loved the movie `9 to 5' when I was a kid, but I don't want to hear those characters sing. I think there's a place for something like Xanadu, but not necessarily on Broadway. Put it in a cabaret!
I'm reminded of Pauline Kael's famous piece about trash art in the movies. You have to have lowbrow entertainment, but when everything goes in that direction, there's a terrible imbalance."
Art often imitates life, even in the case of intentionally bad art. Says Pittu: "Since I started writing this show in 2003, I've had to take out some of the material about Jacob's bad musicals, because they became real. For example: `Fight Club: The Musical,' and Jacob's show about Princess Diana. I would Google these things and, sure enough, I'd find that they were actually in development. Recently, there was an announcement of `American Psycho: The Musical.' My first thought was, 'I can't believe this isn't a Jacob Sterling show!'"
Jacob may be a mess, but Pittu feels that playing him has its compensations: "The best thing is when people come up to me after the show and say, 'Thank you so much. This world is insane, and you made me feel sane again.' That's very heartening to me."
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