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Silence! The Musical

nytheatre.com review by Robin Reed
August 15, 2005

You’ve sold out your high-concept FringeNYC show (a musical comedy version of The Silence of the Lambs) before the festival even opens. The title of your show appears in every newspaper, magazine, and blog about the Fringe. There is a line down the block to get into the theatre to see it. What’s the buzz?This is what I saw: an incredibly savvy production team has assembled an extremely talented cast to parody a thriller into a campy musical. This team does know their way around some musical theatre. One scene moves swiftly to the next, thanks to a smart set-on-wheels designed by Scott Pask. The costumes, by David Kaley, are a great balance of easy-to-work-with and funny (the “Lamb Chorus” is outfitted in just about the cutest little lambs-ear headbands you ever did see!). The band (Brian J. Nash, Charlie Alterman, and Dan McMillan) rocks out a varied and lively score. The choreography, by director Christopher Gattelli, is silly and fun to watch—it practically spoofs itself!With all that going for it, I still couldn’t get my mind around why it wasn’t quite sitting well with me. In my opinion, the buzz for Silence! the musical far outweighs what is delivered. Not that you would ever have known it from the reactions of the audience in attendance the night I saw the show. These folks were having what seemed to be the time of their lives, hooting (literally!) and hollering (for real!) at every turn. Every turn. I had to wonder if this wasn’t what it means to really paper your audience. Or was I just not getting something? When does parody cross the line into tasteless pabulum?The book is clever to a fault. Lecter’s famous “fava beans and Chianti” line is uttered this time by Clarice then corrected by the doctor to “an indifferent Beaujolais and a fluffy rice pilaf.” Funny. The clearly gifted Jenn Harris mimics Jodie Foster’s sibilant “S” throughout the piece. Sort of funny. The first time. After the umpteenth time, I realized that Harris seemed trapped in a one-note character who, instead of hitting the intended satire, sounded like she needed a speech therapist. Songs like “If I Could Smell Her Cunt” and “Would You Fuck Me” had the audience in absolute stitches. I didn’t find them funny. Irreverent dropping of dirty words does not satiate me or make me laugh. Most of the show is littered with an unnecessary yet overtly sexual tone. Has parody become all about anatomical jokes? The little bit of charm that the piece has is slowly obliterated as clever turns into smarty-pants.With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention outstanding performances by the cast. Paul Kandel nails the simmering intensity in his Dr. Lecter. Lisa Martin, as Katherine, the big-boned captive, has got a voice with an incredible power and range. Stephen Bienskie is hilarious as the damaged Buffalo Bill. The major standout here, though, is Diedre Goodwin who, in a sort of Spamalot “Lady of the Lake” role, delivers a killer combo of impeccable comic timing and easy stage presence that stands tall amid a top-notch cast.But all in all, Silence! the musical rests too much on pushing jokes past the point of being funny and comes across largely as dumbed-down locker-room humor. A team this talented would do best to get back to the drawing board and come up with some original and truly inspired material and leave the parody to those who can’t come up with anything else.