By Steven Suskin
31 Dec 2007

Walmartopia [Leading Light LLC]
Walmartopia, the Off-Broadway musical currently winding up its run at the Minetta Lane, was a big hit at the Bartell Community Theatre in Madison. Madison, Wisconsin, that is. Cynics among us have learned to be cynical about Off-Broadway musicals from community theatres in smalltown USA, especially when they see a name above the title such as WMTopia, LLC. I have no knowledge of the identity of the individuals masquerading under this enigmatic mantle, but my guess is that they are either the authors, a married couple from Madison named Catherine Capellaro and Andrew Rohn; a consortium of Madison money from friends, neighbors and relatives (of the authors) who saw the show at the Bartell Community Theatre and pronounced it good enough for New York; a combination of the above; or someone with an ungainly moniker that wouldn't neatly fit the billing page, such as Winnie Moynihan Topia.

There is no reason that an unheralded sleeper from unknown writers should not be exceptionally good; 1776 came from some high school history teacher, and few people had ever heard of Clark Gesner when he turned up on St. Mark's Place with You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. But Walmartopia has more in common with such recent offerings as Sessions, Mimi le Duck and that thing about Mary Todd Lincoln whose title I can't remember that was written by the wife of a former Congressman.

This one is subtitled "A Musical on a Mission," and has something to do with the disembodied head of Sam Walton and a group of Vermont terrorists. (Bentonville, Arkansas has become the capital of the world.) You can probably find a synopsis on the internet, but you might just as well skip it. Wal-Mart is, in many quarters, deemed to be the enemy of the world.

Walmartopia, though, engenders sympathy for Wal-Mart. The result seems to be sort of a feel-good Urinetown, with a bite so mild that you could can it, slap on a smiley face, and sell it for $2 in the bargain bin across from customer service. Ms. Capellaro and Mr. Rohn are not helped by the five-piece arrangements; if Urinetown sounds like early Weill, Walmartopia sounds like early skating rink.

Wal-Mart is also known for taking advantage of its poor, hard-working, under-appreciated employees. Fifteen card-carrying members of Actors' Equity give their utmost, under working conditions — material-wise — that are rather dire. Still, good jobs are as hard to find for actors in New York as they are for cashiers, stockroom clerks and assistant managers in the world outside show business. Walmartopia's Off-Broadway run — from Labor Day until the eve before New Year's Eve, plus the rehearsal period — should hopefully give them all enough weeks to qualify for a year of health coverage.

Dreaming Wide Awake: The Music of Scott Alan [Billy-Boo BBR-0701]
Songwriter Scott Alan, unlike the authors of Walmartopia, does not seem to have someone to bankroll one of his musicals-in-progress. He has instead put together a songbook CD with a little help from his friends, the list of whom might well perk up some ears as it includes the likes of Stephanie J. Block, Liz Callaway, Eden Espinosa, Jonathan Groff, Cheyenne Jackson and Josh Strickland.

The results are so much better than some of these amateurish Off-Broadway musicals that come along that one is at the same time heartened and disheartened. Two of the songs, "Now" (sung by Groff) and "Never Neverland (Fly Away)" (sung by Block) are in themselves good enough to warrant giving "Dreaming Wide Awake" a listen. Some of the songs are more pop than theatre, and a few are less than arresting, but even so; there are some good songs here, and some fine performances. Alan is a 29-year-old composer from suburban New York. (He should not be confused with Scott Allen, a stage manager who began as one of the original dancers on the line at A Chorus Line.) Alan has a voice worth listening to, and he has done himself a favor by producing this sampler of his work to date.

(Steven Suskin is author of "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com)