Songbook (1/27/20)

Featuring the music of Ben Caplan

Apparently Mr. Caplan is a composer/lyricist, since I saw no other names mentioned. And he was the musical director/pianist, backed by guitar, bass (electric), drums, reeds, strings and clarinet (if I recall, the clarinetist played in only one piece, hence was not part of reeds, above—why, yes, I am temping at a law firm).

Interestingly, five of the twelve pieces performed were from Mr. Caplan’s I Don’t Want to Talk About It. Wisely, they were dispersed throughout the concert.

The first piece was the name of the show, and it was described as ‘An Adult Schoolhouse Rock’—as a result, it was a little too ‘rock’ for my taste. Alas, I think this is where musical theater is headed. That said, it had clear lyrics and a nice orchestration. The second piece (also from the show named above) was I’m Afraid of Everything, which included planes, heights, really long words and love. Thunk! There it is. Aren’t we all really afraid of love?

The ninth song (also from I Don’t Want to Talk About It) was quite dark. It was performed very well, and dealt in a straightforward way with PTSD, which is at the heart of the musical. That said, the Act II opener of the show was one of my favorites of the evening. Called The Pill Song, it dealt with stimulants, mood levelers, anti-psychotics and caffeine. More to the point, it featured four guys singing in harmony—including a brief, a cappella barbershop segment. The final song of the performance was also from this show. It deserves, and will get, its due later.

There were two epic numbers in the evening, as far as I was concerned. The first dealt with a pair of guys who performed The Ballad of the Cheesecake Factory. These two set a goal for themselves to eat everything on the menu of the chain restaurant. When they realized that it was a 30-page! menu, they still decided to go for it. In a new experience for me, one of the guys went face-first down into a slice of cheesecake to finish the number. Funny, funny stuff. This was a stand-alone song.

The other epic song was also a stand-alone song. One Night in Tel Aviv recounts, vividly, a young man’s trip to Israel. He goes via Birthright, a legit free trip to Israel for young(!) people to tap into their Jewish heritage (I’m not making this up, you know). He not only learns about his heritage, he loses his virginity. Also, funny, funny stuff.

The final song of the evening was also from I Don’t Want to Talk About It. Days I Can had a gentle opening and then dealt, introspectively, with trying to explain the inexplicable about PTSD. Very moving. Maybe it could be a very moving musical?

I must give a shout out to John Znidarsic and his co-producer, Jen Sandler. These folks get all of the performers to volunteer their time for these performances. As an audience member, you never know who you’re going to see—an up-and-coming Broadway performer? A current Broadway performer? In this case, I saw a Fiero (current or former, I don’t remember which) from Wicked, and Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Genie). And all for free! (I generally put a few bucks in the contribution box from time to time at the Library for the Performing Arts.)

ConcertMeister