The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Peter Melnick, is a broadly-played cartoon taking anti-smoking to its absurdist limit. It’s a totally imaginative trip to a bizarre future performed by four top-level singer/actors in stylized, sometimes sparkling, costumes by Michael McDonald. He gives us a surreal trip to a fantasy world on a brilliant flexible set by Charlie Corcoran full of innovations and surprises, with lighting by Jeff Croiter and Grant Yeager that enlivens everything. The writing is sharp and funny, the music lively and catchy.
What an ensemble director Andy Sandberg has assembled: they sing, they dance, they wriggle like a slinky — John Boulton, playing the husband of the smoker, surprises with a physicality that takes the character beyond itself. Farah Alvin’s battle to smoke is a comic gem. Jake Boyd, who I think could be a movie star, as their son has a hilarious rap number that will floor you, and Natalie Venetia Belcon has the voice, personality and comic ability to freeze as well as move that should make her a full Broadway star.
The friend who was with me said, “Where do you find a cast this good?” I said, “Hey, it’s New York, the best in America come here, and these are the best.”
All in all, The Last Smoker in America is one of the most fun shows in town – masterful entertainment in all areas. What a show!
