Theatre Review: The Wrong Man Is Everything Right With Musicals
The Wrong Man is a 90 minute nose-dive into the wronged life and wrongful death of Duran (played mesmerizingly by Joshua Henry). Playing at MCC Theater until November 24, the musical is innovative and modern in tragedy; a black man is wrongfully accused of double murder and for the next 90 minutes through what some might the 9 stages of grief.
Henry is impactful emotional as Duran, and gives an acting performance that does not only deserves to win Broadway’s accolades and notice but also Hollywood. With music, book, and lyrics by Ross Golan, The Wrong Man feels folkish in sound and even in story. It is a mythic tale/ warning about a life never fully lived until one day it was not allowed to. Henry’s Duran embodies all of us, which is why his performance is so captivating. When we meet Duran he is bored with his life of over-worked, underpaid, and mournful that he never went for his dreams and thus has stopped dreaming. Anyone pass 25 can understand that bitter grimness because life/America is based on the idea that hard work leads to dreams coming true, but The Wrong Man shows not only is that NOT true but nightmares can become real instead.
Ross Golan – The Wrong Man (Audio)
Ciara Renée plays Mariana as a sparkling personality losing her shine out of a very real threat; a violent ex-husband, played with charm and vitriol by Ryan Vasquez, toys with her life no matter how far she goes. Her love story with Henry’s Duran is brief but memorable, and molds the entire play’s theme of everyday people with bigger dreams for themselves but never having the resources, courage, and eventual healing to attain them. I had never realized until I saw The Wrong Man that the more time you waste on not going for your dreams, the more tragedies and traumas line up to assure you don’t. While Thomas Kail’s fantastic direction may not be trying to purposefully make a deep universal/ philosophical statement, it occurs within the audience that time really is valuable. You never know what time brings, and if dreams require effort but tragedy solely has to strike, then it is more likely that time will bring unwarranted traumas then dreams you never tried for.
As Henry sings, his voice ricochets through the room like a light-beam aimed at igniting viewers to feel enlightened about life, sadness, and the need to be bold and enjoy this crazy existence. With stunning choreography by Travis Wall, the plays minimalist set but concert-like lighting by Betsy Adams, The Wrong Man uses dance to fill the space. It backing cast is integral to making you see the desert motel Duran hides from the cops in, the prison in which he comes to term with death, and the sleazy bar that holds the one true love he will ever have. Hence, The Wrong Man’s success is that it is quick, immersive, and richly engulfing with its ability to capture a life and its tragedy in a 90 minute burst of catchy tunes. To Buy Tickets For The Wrong Man Click Here.
