Fri 4/21-Sun 5/7
Honestly, the next offering from Gordon Square’s Near West Theatre sounds a little weird. But then, this theater, whose mission is to assemble casts and crew with maximum diversity on every score — gender, age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, theater experience — is known for not doing things by the book.
The 2015 jukebox musical — musicals in which the numbers are preexisting songs, often by a single act — draws its tunes from the repertoire of hit-making 80s girl group the Go Gos and its lead singer Brenda Carlisle’s solo career. It’s called Head Over Heels, after their 1984 top ten hit. So far so good.
Many jukebox musicals, a genre which has exploded in the last 20 years, tell the story of the performer(s) involved: Jersey Boys is the story of Frank Valli and Four Seasons, Soul Sister tells Tina Turner’s story, while the titles of Love, Janis, The Buddy Holly Story, and Dusty—The Original Pop Diva speak for themselves. Others, such as the wildly popular, Mamma Mia!, use tunes (in that case) by Abba to fuel a fictional story; others fictionalize the story of an artist such as Elvis or Johnny Cash.
But Head over Heels goes off on a wild tangent. It’s described as “an unpredictable, frolicsome tale about a royal family that embarks on a quest to prevent an oracles’ prediction of their downfall.” That hardly begins to describe the intricate plot. It’s adapted from a 16th-century set of prose poems that according to Wikipedia, features “sensational treatment of sex, politics, violence, soporifics, mobs, and cross-dressing.” And a non-binary character! Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is likely banning performances even as we speak.
While trying to follow the head-spinning complications of Renaissance royalty romance, viewers will get to hear such jaunty op tunes as “Vacation,” “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” “Lust to Love” and “Mad About You.”
If you like things that are truly off-the-wall, go here for tickets.
nearwesttheatre/head-over-heels