Gigantic **

This musical with a book by Randy Blair and Tim Drucker, music by Matthew roi Berger and lyrics by Blair has been kicking around in various forms since 2009. As “Fat Camp,” it won Best of Fest award at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in a production directed by Alex Timbers. In 2012 American Theatre of Actors revived it with several cast changes and a set by Beowulf Boritt. Why talents such as Timbers or Boritt were attracted to this pedestrian show and why Vineyard Theatre decided to give it a third New York outing are mysteries to me. The antics at a summer camp for overweight teenagers are a slender {pun not intended} thread for a full-evening musical. During the second act, the authors try frantically to liven things up with a production number featuring a dozen or so life-size dancing animals that bears no relation to anything else in the show. Likewise, as part of the color war, one team, with no rationale whatever, performs a scene from “The Crucible” dressed in Pilgrim costumes made from trash bags. The energetic, appealing cast give it their all. They are all good, but Bonnie Milligan, Larry Owens and Leslie Kritzer stand out. The music is generic pop-rock, with many songs sounding almost alike to me. I might have appreciated the music more had it not been blasted at levels that were painful to bear. The woodsy set by Timothy R. Mackabee is quite attractive and Gregory Gale’s costumes are inspired. The choreography by Chase Brock is lively and the direction by Scott Schwartz is smooth. Too bad the the quality of the material does not match the high level of the production. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission.

Murder for Two **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
So soon after being disappointed by Murder Ballad, I was not looking forward to seeing another off-Broadway murder musical  This new show at Second Stage Uptown with music by Joe Kinosian, lyrics by Kellen Blair and a book by both, however, bears no resemblance to that overheated drama. It is more like an extended vaudeville act for two than a murder mystery whose solution is of primary importance. (If you remember who did it five minutes after the show ends, you're better than I am.) Fortunately, the two actors are the multi-talented Jeff Blumenkrantz and Brett Ryback. These two energetic performers act, sing, dance and play a mean piano, both separately and together. Ryback plays Marcus, a young police officer out to make detective by solving the murder of a famous novelist. The rubber-faced Blumenkrantz plays all the suspects, who include the victim's wife, his mistress, his niece, an unscrupulous psychiatrist and members of a boys choir. The proceedings too often rely on frenetic activity rather than wit. There is less music than I would have expected. Beowulf Boritt's clever set promises more than the play delivers. Scott Schwartz's direction keeps up a lively pace. It's not a terrible way to spend a summer evening, but it's not as much fun as I hoped for. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.