Theatre Review: Spoon River Makes You Happily Glide Through Life’s Meaning
Spoon River may be a Canadian gem, but it should also be a Broadway Bound musical. Continuing the Soulpepper run at the Perishing Signature Square Theater, Spoon River invigorated the life of the crowd through a deathly premise. Nothing like messages and laughs from the beyond to remind you both that you are still here, and that you should stay here, in your life, as well.
Based on the Edgar Lee “Spoon River Anthology”, Director Albert Schultz and composer Mike Ross have made an inclusive, but lavish display of what theatre is about; both reflecting and inspiring humanity. As you enter the show, you are confronted with the casket of a young woman; you are at a funeral. The cast shakes your hands and laments “Sorry, for your loss”. As you cross the stage unto your seats, you see tombstones and giant full moon amines blackened trees; a grim beginning and set, by Ken Mackenzie, for a rather vibrant show. With the ironic uttering of the word, “Sleep”, the show begins in jamboree form as the cast role plays into the dead townspeople of Spoon River. “The Graves”, “Couples”, and “Soul Alive” are just a few of the gorgeous, roaring tracks that ignite audience’s imaginations. By all accounts, Spoon River seems like a small town filled with personalities, now passed on, that were livelier, kinder, and bigger than, at times, what their life’s situations offered them. Thus, why do they wish to be alive again, or marvel at life with nostalgia? As they all tell how they left this world, in-between revelry and regret, each person shows that being dead is a new life that does not replace your old one; instead, it makes you respect it. For better or worse, your life is yours, and there is a beauty to that.
The cast of Spoon River is absolutely exceptional. Each person shines in voice and talent. They have created a peoples that makes you want to run up and hug them until they come back to life, again. I cannot describe the sentimentality of this musical, and how in its run until July 30, it has become one of the best shows to see in New York; even better than some of the musicals currently playing on Broadway. Thus, Click Here To Buy Your Tickets For Spoon River. The theatre is located on , 480 West 42nd Street, and the musical is 90 minutes with no intermission.
