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Singing singles
Entirely set to music, "I Sing" is the tumultuous tale of love triangles, betrayal and unrequited desire in the Prozac era.
By JOSHUA TANZER
Offoffoff.com
This production couldn't be more aptly titled, since it forgoes dialogue in
favor of songs — the actors are constantly singing throughout this show.
Focusing on the romantic tribulations of five young New Yorkers in their
twenties, "I Sing" is an energetic, humorous and at times poignant evening
of musical theater.
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| | | I SING | Written by: Eli Bolin, Sam Forman, Benjamin Salka.
Directed by: Benjamin Salka.
Cast: Billy Eichner, Jeff Juday, Jodie Langel, Michael Raine, Meredith Zeitlin.
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The characters we meet are Charlie (played by Billy
Eichner), a trust-funded gay guy who discovers he's not quite so gay due to
the wiles of Pepper (played by Jodie Langel), his hot-blooded party-promoting
roommate. There's Nicky (played by Jeff Juday), an investment-bank
worker involved with Heidi (Meredith Zeitlin), who's still supported by Dad.
Nicky and Heidi are letting the nebbishy Alan (Michael Raine) crash on their
couch when he's not teaching Hebrew school.
Tumult ensues when Heidi and
Nicky break up, Alan moves in on Heidi and Nicky gets involved with Pepper,
whom Charlie is tormentedly smitten with. There's a lot to sing about as
the characters first expand upon who they are: singing about futons and
Caesar salad with croutons and Prozac for lunch and how I don't know who I
am but I gotta be me — and then the tunes turn to how they're involved with
each other.
When Nicky is two hours late for a date with Heidi, Alan goes
into a hilarious number about his desire for her, involving impressive leaps
and twirling and some funny business with Nicky's wallet. As the show
progresses, we learn more about the characters' feelings as they all stand on
the verge of something and try to put their hearts back into place.
The performances are great — all the actors deserve kudos and a year's supply of
lozenges for singing so much and so well — and you really feel like you know
the characters. How about a sequel when they're going through midlife
crises?
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JUNE 21, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
Reader comments on I Sing:
I SING from Patrick O'Connor, Mar 8, 2005
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