"Luigi: the Musical," show #916

Seeing a show like Luigi: the Musical affords audience members to curb a sadistic appetite for seeing how a fastidiously written show can land when it takes a viral sensation and slaps it on stage. This production, to its credit, continues to extend its run (and runtime, apparently), is perpetually sold out, and is, itself, a viral talking point on major news outlets (and not just theatre news outlets). The sole merit I can award this musical simply lies in the ability to mount an hour-plus musical in less than six months from Luigi Mangione’s (alleged) infamous deed. But this show's mounting is just a calendar-based fact, not an artistic achievement.

I can only assume that the creators of Luigi: the Musical are taking this show seriously. Therefore a serious criticism is to be had: this show does not need to exist. I took the time to read through the program–which includes the assumedly legal safety net of declaring and defining Satire–and several of the interviews and blurbs the creators have given. The show's desire to give social commentary on how corruption, crime, and crooked behaviors are not only rewarded but often glorified are media-and-justice elements we all know, and many-a-play have already delivered this (Chicago is the first that comes to mind). However, shows like Chicago are timeless entertainments with poignant and clever ways to comment; this show has no legacy to it. Luigi: the Musical has hashbrown motifs, a tap dance shared between supporting characters Diddy and SBF (initials of Sam Bankman-Fried), and a Guard character who doesn’t need to be in the show. 

Jonny Stein plays Luigi and is honestly terrific in a work-too-hard-for-his-own-good part. His clear triple-threat abilities are wasted, save for his voice, where his vocals in the opening solo, “All For a Smile” shine. I’ll admit, with this being the second song on the bill, I actually thought, “If the whole show meets this level of acting and singing chops, we might have something here.” The thought died immediately at the start of the next song and never resurrected. Stein’s comic timing allows for some play with the audience, but often it seems he, and the rest of the cast, were searching for their lines, or dropping lyrics completely. Stein seems the most confident in his role, and his muscular treat for the audience in the finale, “Peace on Earth,” makes so much sense it’s disappointing it didn’t happen earlier.

Janee Lucas and Andre Margatini are truly underserved in their glaringly one-dimensional roles of Diddy and SBF, respectively. Try as they may to be funny, much of the acting choices land flat, and the surface-level writing they’ve been given helps nobody. Their songs are often too long, not as funny as the lyrics intend to be and, at times, made me wishing for there to be a long-fix technical glitch so the performance had to end. Lucas’s physicality of Diddy brings a gesture to nearly every single line, often undercutting the few punchlines that had some heft to them. Margatini brings a glimmer of nerdy charm to SBF, but ultimately can't elevate any bit of their role. Rounding out the cast is Caleb Zeringue’s turn as the Guard, where we learn too much too late to care about this role and, much in the vein as Lucas and Margatini, the acting is not strong enough to make much work. Zeringue does offer some nice vocals in duet with Stein in “Keys to My Heart” to help get us to the much-desired end of the show.

Nova Bradford’s direction has little detection of concept, cohesiveness, or even consistency with how the musical should run. Each actor seems to be in their own play, and the scene work adds to this disjointedness. Overall, the show either winks at itself too much for being a musical with social and justice commentaries to be taken seriously, or doesn't wink at itself enough to be a bona fide campy satire; it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Adding to the lack of foundational enjoyment is a simply confusing lighting design effort by Christopher Beale, where the string of “Dear Manifesto” tunes by Stein and later by Zeringue are lit in deep shadow, appearing to flirt with being intimate but falling short and making it seem like it’s a scene transition. It’s a disservice to any facial acting the actors are giving and, while it could be due to lack of tech equipment at the Taylor Street Theater, it would be more effective to let the audience see full face in those musicals ponderings. 

Look, I knew what I signed up for when I bought my tickets to Luigi: the Musical. I, at best, was hoping the musical would know what it is and play that style to its full extent. Whether this is considered a workshop, an in-development, or a full-fledged musical, the overall critique is that this show is presented, not performed. The musical just happens at you. And with a twenty-minute curtain delay, no booze at the concession stand, and the pianist not having the keyboard ready at show’s start, this show, for me, began indebted with crime, save for Stein’s fool’s errand of effort where, even at his level of talent and commitment, couldn’t elevate much of the material. A musical chasing a viral story and character can only last so long. Like I anticipate the eventual fate of Luigi Mangione, I believe--when the virality is gone and enough sold-outs have happened--the show will die in its cell and the world will move on.