REVIEW: ‘Octet’ musicalizes 21st century technology and communication
Photo: Octet is a new a cappella musical from the mind of Dave Malloy. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by BBB with permission.
The new chamber choir musical Octet, from the mind of Dave Malloy, is a poignant evening that is unlike any other I’ve seen in a New York theater.
Audience members lucky enough to score a ticket are invited to off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre, which is bedecked out to look like a group-therapy session at a local church. The addiction being discussed this evening centers on one’s obsession with being connected to the internet, smartphones and other 21st century technology. Each of the eight participants — hence the name, Octet — are trying to live cleaner, purer lives away from these devices, but their old habits haunt their memories and provide hilarious and heartbreaking lyricism to the musical’s expertly realized songs.
By turning a microscope to that device in everyone’s pocket, Malloy has essentially crafted a one-hour-40-minute commentary on where the 21st century currently stands. It’s been said ad nauseam, but everyone is so tied up in these personal technologies that certain realities are starting to shift. Interpersonal communication has changed. Views on community, sexuality, identity and dating have been modified. People are seemingly connected more than ever, but true connection seems like a fading dream.
The performers at the Signature, under the direction of Annie Tippe, are expert singers and storytellers, especially because their singing is accompanied by minimal instrumentation. This is a true a cappella effort, and that means so much relies on the shoulders of these actors. They certainly rise to the occasion as they develop meaningful characters that are unique and never cliché.
The power of Malloy’s compositions is subtly effective. At first, Octet feels like a staged comedy, like a well-intentioned criticism of group therapy, religion or even musical theater itself. It’s unclear which way the story will go.
But what the audience witnesses is wholly original and unexpected. Malloy is after humanization and a lensed view of how society has changed so speedily, sometimes without consideration of the consequences.
The octet format allows each of the actors to have a moment in the spotlight, and their numbers, plus the group tunes, are wonderful to hear in the intimate surroundings of the Signature Theatre on 42nd Street. It’s almost like Malloy and the cast have invited the audience to listen to a secret, to take a peek behind the curtain, to see what reality might look like without the frivolities of traditional musical theater.
Octet has reshaped this reviewer’s idea of what a musical can be, and one hopes a longer life beyond June 30 is possible. It’s certainly warranted.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Octet. Written and composed by Dave Malloy. Directed by Annie Tippe. Starring Adam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert and Kuhoo Verma. Running time: 100 minutes with no intermission. Currently playing The Pershing Square Signature Center. Malloy is a Residency 5 writer at the Signature Theatre. Rating: 
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