“It’s Only Life” ends the first season of Inspired with charm

WALLED LAKE, MI–I was excited when I heard about the opportunity to write a review. It’s Only Life: A new musical revue by John Bucchino”…mainly because I had never seen a musical revue before, let alone a new one. A revue is a form of theater that combines individual sketches or songs into a larger idea or concept that is presented as an overall impression, if not a narrative. A musical revue is more than a concert, and is not quite “musical theater” as we generally understand it.

One benefit of traveling through Detroit’s regional theater scenes is that you get to see some really great actors again in different works and roles, and they even become something like friends. Since I didn’t know about John Bucchino, a highly respected composer and cabaret artist, before the show began, I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know that I would be seeing John DeMerell, who I first saw in The Curious Case Of last spring. The Watson Intelligence perform again.

I find that musical revues are difficult to judge because they are a series of songs that paint a picture of a state of mind rather than driving the plot forward. Therefore, much of your experience with them is subjective. To explain It’s just life (which is oddly billed as a “new revue,” although it’s been around in one form or another since 2006), imagine a simple series of walls framing two entrances at the back of the stage. Five characters parade in and out of the stage, singing over twenty songs in a variety of configurations. All of the songs are about love, longing, and loss. Some are hopeful, some are angry and bitter, and some are just plain sad. The whole atmosphere of the show is VERY Sondheimian (right down to one character’s shockingly real-looking red jumpsuit, apparently nicked from the “Company” tour), and I wasn’t the least bit surprised to find out that Bucchino was a student and protégé of the late composer and lyricist. The best way I can describe the show is as a party at a Stephen Sondheim musical where every character is Eponine.

The five performers in this performance all seem to represent archetypes, but not characters. Sometimes the same person is straight, sometimes gay… sometimes happy with a new love, then crushed by the weight of their ending. The aforementioned DeMerell delivers a great performance that is initially restrained but culminates in two solos at the end of the show that display a devastating range of emotions. Everyone else in the show delivers very good acting work, although it seems as though director Jeff Thomakos chose the show’s cast without much regard for how they sounded as a five-part mixed harmony vocalist. Additionally, it was a joy to see Jennifer Horne (Red Jumpsuit Lady) completely redeem herself in my eyes after my only previous experience with her had seen her throw my niece across the stage by her pigtails, in a production of Matilda. Natalie Rose Sevick’s vocals are spot on and she really knows how to sell a song.

This show marks the end of Inspired’s first season as a company. It was a well-executed, risky finale that fans of musicals and plays alike will appreciate. While I definitely prefer the more familiar form of musical theatre for shows, I feel like I’m growing even more fond of revues. Congratulations to Jeff on a great first season and all the best for many more to come!