LOUD
nytheatre.com review by Lee Ramsey
August 15, 2003
According to the press release, Loud is "an in-your-face
electronic rock opera, a modern parable of internet courtship and
recreational bomb building, a funny, disturbed, and poignant look at our
misdirected attempts at gaining love and understanding...and how they
frequently can lead to disaster."The storyline is extremely clear and very innovative and the cast is for the most part quite talented. Clark Mims as Deborah, a 23 year old, single statutory rapist, and Jeffrey Forte as Ray, a recently dumped factory worker who's looking for love, are the standouts. Their song "Public Place, Proof of I.D." was the highlight of the show for me.
The plot is very intricate and well-constructed, if a bit long at 105 minutes (it bogs down a bit in the middle) but Loud is well on its way to becoming a really interesting and enjoyable new musical.
The production would benefit from stronger direction. Peter Flint's staging is weak and a bit sloppy; the show has numerous unnecessary blackouts that stall the action. Loud could also use a good costume designer (there was no designer listed in the program and the costumes seemed a bit hit-or-miss). That said, this is a very enjoyable show, and I'd be very interested in seeing it in its future incarnations.
