Heed Jack Sparrow’s Famous Words!

A Fun Rock Opera

That romantic sage Johnny Depp is quoted in RLTP’s very interesting handout as saying, “If you love two people at the same time, choose the second because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn’t have fallen for the second.” If only Sara in Murder Ballad had heeded that advice, then so much misery and angst would have been avoided. On the other hand, this rock opera, written by Julia Jordan that is set in NYC, would not be able explore the motivations, conflicts, and consequences of love triangles, which it does in a decidedly determined manner.

The Narrator (Leah Berst) sets up the story and continues to watch over the unfolding events, speaking directly to the audience throughout the play.  Sara (Jenn Stafford) and Tom (Anthony Alcocer) are passionately in, well, passion. Fueled by various mind altering substances, they have great sex and frolic and play for several years until they do not. Following their bad breakup, Sara meets and falls for Michael (Ricky Needham), a man with the soul of a poet, and in possession of a working moral compass. They live, love, and produce a child on the Upper West Side. Tom bartends and eventually owns a bar downtown. Sara feels empty when their daughter goes to school so she contacts Tom, and… you can guess the rest. Well, maybe not quite all of the rest.

Listen to the Music

The actors all do a fine job with their roles, and all are strong singers, an essential ingredient in a rock opera. Leah Berst is superb – sly, witty, sexy, and has a kind of mischievous presence. Anthony Alcocer is totally believable as the quintessential bad boy, an attractive, sensual man full of passion and rage he cannot control.  Ricky Needham is excellent as the nerdy, kind man who loves his family unconditionally, then sees his world falling apart. Jenn Stafford as the conflicted Sara brings a vulnerability to her part, as a woman who seeks fulfillment only from outside herself, making choices based on her inability to tolerate the void she feels inside. Her voice sounded shrill in the higher registers, perhaps due to her mic.

Directed by Doug Weyand, this is a spirited production that is well staged, with interesting lighting by John Rickus that sets mood and tone underneath the steps and platforms on the Dyan Burlingame designed set. Minimal set pieces give the stage an open feel allowing the players to move into different environments without major scene changes that would interrupt the flow of the story.

Music Director Joe Isgar and his band never overwhelm the singing. The music itself, by Juliana Nash, who also wrote the lyrics, seems repetitive at times, which does detract a bit from the quality of the show. However, the musicians are excellent and do great work with what they are given. As do the actors with the lyrics to their songs.

The lyrics, while very well written, do not break any new ground. The “decks of cards” lyrics, sung throughout the opera by The Narrator, are clever as are the references to French New Wave Cinema, particularly Jules et Jim, in relation to Sara and Tom’s love affair. However, the lovers on stage do not end in quite the same way.

Beware Demon Rum

The Narrator, Tom, and Sara drink prodigious amounts of alcohol throughout the story. While initially releasing endorphins, those delightful little pleasure hormones, it also releases one’s ability to make good decisions, as that part of the brain goes on holiday when one is inebriated. It affects communication pathways in a decidedly unpleasant way, as well. So, can we chalk up the unbridled passions in this rock opera to demon rum? Who is to say of this short tale of love, passion, obsession, and murder?