Keep Ishmael

By Mat Smart and Ethan Deppe

White Horse Theatre Company

http://www.whitehorsetheatre.com

 

Naperville, IL recently was given the honor of being named the best small city in America in which to raise a family.  Among other things, this distant Chicago suburb was recognized for its low unemployment and crime rate, along with its plethora of parks and excellent schools.  Naperville now has something else for which to boast: its own rock musical.

 

With book and lyrics by Mat Smart and music by Ethan Deppe, Keep Ishmael, inspired by the novel Moby Dick, tells the tale of four disillusioned Naperville twenty-somethings who are simultaneously fired from their respective jobs from such commercial symbols of Americana as The Great Frame Up, Starbucks and (what seems to be) Bally’s.  Noting that Naperville had been recognized as a place of familial bliss, this foursome realize that they must be freaks since they are not jumping for joy. This realization, along with their coincidental job losses, jettisons them into an adventurous quest of conquering this lack of jubilance through working on a fishing boat in Alaska.  The rest of the play follows this whacked-out foursome as they travel to and work on a fishing boat turned pirate ship, coming to terms with the fact that perhaps they have taken Naperville for granted and that perhaps the reason they’re bored with life is not that they live in Naperville, but that they themselves are simply boring people.

 

The performances are exemplary, easily matching the book-writer’s (Mat Smart) finely-crafted dialogue.  Best of all is Jonathan Wagner as the character of A-Train, the delusional picture-framer turned psychotic pirate, who puts his and everyone’s lives on the line in order to kill Shamu the whale (his ex-girlfriend left him in order to work at Sea World with Shamu).  Wagner’s performance of A-Train’s meaty soliloquy is thespian perfection, as he insanely avows, in a Sweeney Todd manner, “I will find you Shamu and taste your blood again”.   Tawny Newsome offers up a strong performance, along with the cast’s best vocal skills, as Q (yes, her character’s name is one letter, much like the aunt from the “Andy Griffith Show”).  Nick Mills successfully tackles the lead character Ishmael.  Casey Campbell also shines as the gratingly optimistic ex-Starbucks manager.  Additionally, the supporting actors do a wonderful job, most notably Jeremy Trager portraying the smarmy pirate who hilariously dreams of the day when he’s able to order a pomegranate Frappacino from Starbucks.

 

Though a solid piece overall, my main complaint with this production is the lack of continuity in the music, which is written by the prolific Ethan Deppe. Deppe’s output struggles with the confusion of what it wants to be - it starts out with the through-sung rock musical style of Jesus Christ, Superstar - though at times devoid of a pronounced melody.  It then veers into long sections of dialogue, with a few interspersed tender ballads.  Then once again the production seeps back into another directionless serving of rock.  What we finally get, then, is an overall musical arch that leaves one questioning whether the music really enhances the whacky storyline.  Indeed, at times the music often is distracting, partly because of its overzealous volume (i.e., it’s too loud).  Ironically, the moments where the music works best in the story’s favor is not the rock sections but the more introspective ballads, such as the telling “Go Sail”, where Ishmael’s mother advises her son to go experience wondrous things while he can; to not let life pass him by as it did her. 

 

But despite this deficiency, Keep Ishmael is wildly inventive, and a great example of Chicago’s reputation of edgy and daring theatrical fare.  Where else can you find a gay romance between a Starbucks manager and a scruffy pirate? (unfortunately he’s not Johnny Depp).  Where else have you seen a bored but quirky retired couple, complete with a Winnebago, ready to shuttle you from Alaska to Illinois?  Or where else besides Chicago theatre can you witness a rendition of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus where, instead of singing “Hallelujah”, the choir sings “Frappacino”?  Although sometimes these scenes leave you with a sarcastic thought of “What were they thinking”, it more often than not presents an evening of insane fun. 

 

White Horse Theatre Company’s mission is “to re-imagine the art of musical theatre through an innovative and diverse perspective”.  With this piece, the company has done an exemplary job of furthering this ambitious vision. And by the mere fact that this company offers a voice for new musicals, we are given a true gift to the Chicago theatre community. 

 

Rating: Recommended (3 stars)

 

 

 

Reviewed by Scotty Zacher

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