PANIC – A Live Radio Musical

Panic Players—Théâtre Cercle Molière

This piano-accompanied musical opens with promise, showcasing the two leads’ talent in a hilarious musical rendition of Jane Eyre, which the later supporting cast often struggles to match. Periodic line flubs drag out a few of the already overextended interstitial scenes, sapping the momentum that had been set at the start.

The show is not a locally written production, however some aspects of the script bears mentioning. Its exposition over-explains the plot, leading to some heavy lag between the main points of action, which maybe could have been trimmed to cut down the 90 minute runtime into a more typical festival length. There is also the unfortunate irony of the strongest singer and only female role largely being shelved while the men are talking (or singing) only to reemerge to be the butt of stereotypical jokes regarding makeup or fashion. Most of the script’s one liners are references to historical pop culture, so you might want to study before the show to get in on the jokes. The text is ultimately a flaw of the playwright, but nevertheless stands out.

The set and costume design is a treat, although the use of an illuminated ‘applause’ sign might have prevented more spontaneous reactions during the superb rendition of The War of the Worlds; packed full of fantastic character voices and vocalized sound effects that were worthy of some unsanctioned applause.

PANIC is at its best when it’s the live radio musical it purports to be. The ‘off-mic’ framing narrative unfortunately brings down the energy from those standout elements.

Ashley Frantik