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Travis Tanner

nytheatre.com review by Julie Congress
August 15, 2005

Travis Tanner is a “contemporary oratorio,” and, with nearly two straight hours of original music and a cast of 27 actors, it is an extremely ambitious and highly admirable endeavor.To be honest, the libretto (by Melanie N. Lee) is somewhat confusing, and my companion and I had rather different takes on exactly what happened. Here’s my understanding of the story: Travis Tanner is a Dennis Miller-esque television comedian who, though once fiercely liberal in his views, has suddenly, and with little explanation, switched to the conservative end of the spectrum after being fired by HBO. This greatly distresses and baffles Leila, a liberal grad student. She becomes obsessed with Tanner, and begins writing her thesis on the puzzling media icon. The majority of the show consists of encounters (possibly imaginary) between Tanner and Leila, Tanner and the chorus, and Leila and the chorus. There’s a third character, a liberal comedian named Jim Frank (who has also been a long-time subject of Leila’s study). In a meeting with Leila, he provides some (unsatisfactory?) speculation about Tanner.Louis Michael Sacco brings charisma, a strong voice, and just the right amount of sleaziness to Travis Tanner. Unfortunately, his costar, Lauretta, does not have sufficient power or range—either as a singer or an actress—to effectively portray the strong-willed Leila.The chorus is refreshingly diverse in terms of race, age, and appearance, and contains some tremendous voices. Unfortunately, its large size proves to be a hindrance—when the entire cast is onstage (plus the lively four-person band) there is virtually no room left. Not only does this compromise director DJ McDonald’s attempts at choreography, but there isn’t sufficient room to differentiate one side from another when the chorus breaks itself into the Conservatives and the Liberals. Perhaps if each member of the chorus wore either a piece of blue or red clothing, the problem could be alleviated, but it still wouldn’t solve the space issue.The music, by Robert Stephens, takes on many different forms, including rock songs, a number in the style of a Broadway musical, and a particularly rousing protest song called “Buck Fush.” Ultimately, however, the songs (other than the one song I mentioned) sound awfully similar to one another, and are rather unmemorable. The libretto, though confusing, fares better. In the second act, Leila reveals that although she is artistic and liberal in her leanings, she is also a devout Christian, and doesn’t feel as if she really belongs to either the Left or Right. This is such an incisive, thought-provoking, and long-overdue sentiment! I really wish Lee had explored this more—it is so important for us to realize that human beings are complicated, contradictory beings and cannot fit into the oversimplified labels the media spews at us. Perhaps Leila’s dilemma of not fitting neatly into a category is shared by Travis Tanner, and is the best explanation behind his switch in alliances. I’m not sure if that’s right, but it is worth exploring.Travis Tanner may have more than its share of problems, but none of them is irreparable and the folks involved in the production seem particularly receptive to constructive criticism (you’ll find an Audience Member Response Form in the middle of the program). It’s also a show that makes you think, and any theatre that can do that (at least in my books) should be commended and supported.