The Heart

 B+

For its first musical at the Laura Pels Theatre in several years, Roundabout has chosen this import from La Jolla Playhouse on a topic that doesn’t sound like a promising one for a musical – a heart transplant. Composers and lyricists Anne and Ian Eisendrath and book and additional lyrics writer Kait Kerrigan have adapted Réparer les Vivants, the 2014 novel by Maylis de Kerangal into a fast-paced 90-minute musical about the events between the arrival to the hospital of a 19-year-old surfer Simon Lamar (Nick T. Daly) seriously injured in an auto accident and the successful transplant of his heart into Claire (Heidi Blickenstaff), a 50-year-old woman who, after three years, is about to give up on the transplant waiting list. We meet Simon’s divorced parents, Marianne (Joaquina Kalukango) and Sean (Jason Tam), who must make the awful decision whether to donate Simon’s organs once he is declared brain dead; Thomas (Lincoln Clauss), the hospital official who must gently coax them into a decision to donate; Cordelia (Bre Jackson), a nurse who is upbraided for singing to Simon; Marthe (Wren Rivera), the organ transplant list clerk who must make snap life or death decisions; Dr. Breva (Drew Gehling), the hotshot surgeon who will perform the transplant; and Juliette (Max Mackenna), Simon’s DJ girlfriend. Each gets a song to express their perspective. All the actors play secondary roles as well. The electronic score includes a few fine songs that could stand on their own elsewhere. Some of the actors, including Clauss, Jackson and Kalukango, have exceptional voices that I wished I could have heard more of. The majority of play takes place in the hospital and could pass for a musicalized episode of The Pitt. Mandy Moore’s choreography captures the seemingly disorganized mayhem of an ER and an OR. We also get flashbacks of Simon’s joy in surfing and Juliette’s dj work. I would have liked more about Claire and less about Juliette. Robert Brill’s scenic design is simple but works effectively with Lucy Mackinnon’s excellent projections. The costumes by Serafina Bush are apt. The direction, by Roundabout’s Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, is smooth and sure. While the show is uneven, at its best it is very good. Roundabout is to be commended for trying something a bit different. I was glad that I saw it. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.