In Transit
cast list
Steve French, Celisse Henderson, Hannah Laird, Chesney Snow, Graham Stevens, Denise Summerford, Tommar Wilson
directed by
Joe Calarco
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If your idea of a capella is a barbershop quartet or the singing school board members from The Music Man, then the latest show at 59E59 Theaters, In Transit, will come as a surprising breath of fresh air. In Transit tells the intermingled stories of New York subway riders through music and song, but that simple explanation doesn’t really do this show justice.
In Transit hooks the audience up front with inside jokes about the subway, beautiful voices and very clever songs that slowly reveal the characters. From this cornucopia, two primary stories emerge, woven together seamlessly. In the first, Denise Summerford plays Jane, an office temp and aspiring actress, who strikes up a friendship with Boxman, Chesney Snow – an amazing talent that is a one-man percussion section.
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Jane’s journey takes her from her job and taking advice from her boss (a wonderful turn by Celisse Henderson) through to a flirtatious encounter with Graham Stevens. Ms. Summerford has a great set of pipes and the disposition to go with them. She brings pure joy to the stage.
The second set of characters are friends Trent and Ali, played by Tommar Wilson and Hannah Laird. Neither is comfortable in his or her skin, Trent is unable to tell his mother he is gay, and Ali is unable to let go of her ex-boyfriend. And so both are struggling to get by in New York, a city that can be hard on those practicing self-denial. Ms. Laird gets a song to wow the crowd, while Mr. Wilson’s numbers are smaller but packed full of emotion.
All the singers play multiple roles, with Steve French and Graham Stevens doing the yeoman’s work in bringing to life a variety of different characters. Chesney Snow’s Boxman provides the soul of the piece.
As the show progresses, there is a subtle change in the way the audience is engaged. The longer the show progresses, the less the audience is surprised by the wonderful voices in harmony. They still sound great, but the sound stops being surprising and becomes “just” excellent. And yet as the audience gets used to the voices and the singing, the stories begin to take on more heft, and the piece's themes comes to the forefront.
In Transit is about how to live in the moment, not simply traveling through life. It sounds hokey, just as a capella sounds quaint, somehow this show manages come up with something fresh.
The sets, simple and malleable, are well designed by Anna Louizos. They have a familiar “everywhere” feel to those that travel the subway daily. This feel makes the dreamy quality of theshow all the more unexpected. The direction by Joe Calarco is great, never becoming static.
Finally the book, music and lyrics are a collaboration that produces a well-tuned output (horrible pun intended). The work is by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth, and it is a collaboration that works wonders.
Finally, you will never forget Celisse Henderson in that Metro Card dress.
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New York reviews
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Three Sisters, Classic Stage Company
The Piano Lesson, Yale Repertory Theatre
The Momentum, Laurie Beechman Theatre
The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, La MaMa E.T.C.
John Gabriel Borkman, BAM Harvey Theater
Blood From a Stone, Acorn Theatre
Malfi, Inc., Theatre 54
Pieces, 59E59 Theaters
A Delicate Balance, Yale Repertory Theatre
The Memorandum, Beckett Theatre
The Scottsboro Boys, Lyceum Theatre
Driving Miss Daisy, Golden Theatre
Futura, TBG Theatre
La Bete, The Music Box Theatre
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
A Life in the Theatre, Schoenfeld Theatre
In Transit, 59E59 Theaters
theatre
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