If you guffaw at scatological humor and knock-knock jokes, and your development was arrested at puberty, then Theater Three's production of Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical may just be your cup of tea. Made up of two hours of singularly un-funny sketches about the alleged pitfalls of mid-life, most likely written by two men (brothers Bob and Jim Walton) who know of mid-life only from learning about it from the History Channel of which the cast sings, their attempts at humor fall far short of their mark.
The press release touts the lyrics: "If you've come to curse your fate, or start to date at forty-eight. If you sleep through football recaps, or if you've blown out both your kneecaps. If you still like Chuck Berry, if your ears are very hairy, welcome to mid-life!" And this, dear readers, is as good as it ever gets.
Rarely have I witnessed so much stellar talent wasted on such jaded, uninspired, and godawful lyrics. The music isn't too bad, but you won't walk out of the theater humming any of the instantly forgettable melodies. The performance reviewed was only the second preview; so the technical glitches can be forgiven namely music way too loud for the intimate basement space.
Likewise B. J. Cleveland's frenetic antics were too far over the top, but hopefully he will rein in his excesses by opening night, as he is otherwise quite talented. Sally Soldo, as always, entertains with a magnificent singing voice and can be at once vibrant and subtle, the latter in the poignant number, "The Long Goodbye" dealing with a parent with dementia.
Amy Mills Jackson carries off all her numbers with her usual verve and is totally entertaining in all of her sketches. Doug Jackson, a consummate actor, never fails to deliver and knows when to mug and when to be subtle. While the entire cast is excellent, Randy Pearlman and Jenny Thurman totally steal every scene in which they appear.
Although the Walton brothers have a great subject for potentially funny material, they fail to deliver the goods. Not only that, the first act lasts a full hour, and due to the configuration in the T3 basement, there is no escape until intermission.
