THE CONFIDENTIAL MUSICAL THEATRE PROJECT (Confidential Musical Theatre Project). At the Al Green Theatre. July 7 at 6:30 pm, July 9 at 3:15 pm, July 11 at 9 pm, July 13 at 9:15 pm, July 14 at 4:30 pm, July 16 at noon. See listing. Rating: NNN
As the title implies, I cant say much about The Confidential Musical Theatre Project. The concept is cool, especially if you like musicals. Performers have been given scripts and scores to a musical, but they cant reveal the show or their part in it to anyone. Then, an hour before curtain, the cast gets together for the first time, presumably to do some last-minute rehearsing.
Oh yeah, the audience comes in, not knowing what theyll be seeing, until music director (and the shows creator) Marion Abbott strikes the first notes on her keyboard.
For some reason, I cant reveal the name of the musical I saw, even though the show likely wont be done again during the festival. I can say its a musical I knew, and was impressed with some of it here: the chemistry of the leads, the singing, even with some punishingly difficult sections (and spotty electronic amplification) and the amusing staging of a few scenes.
But to fit into the hour-long Fringe slot, the show was gutted so much that it wouldnt make sense to people unfamiliar with the show. And while a handful of performers stood out (Ive seen them in small and big musicals throughout the city), at its heart CMTP is essentially an exercise thats more exciting for the performers than it is for the audience.
