The first thing you should know about Static: Noise of a New Musical is that the author, Tess Rowan, is a mere 17 years old. As such, the fact that she wrote the book, the music, and the lyrics for the show and also directed and starred in it is nothing less than astounding.
That said, this musical has a lot of growing to do. There is a kernel of a good musical here, but if it is going to find a life beyond Fringe, it’s going to need a lot of work.
In Static, Rowan crafted a story about a family that has been living in the Pennsylvania woods for five years since their father disappeared while the family was hiking the Appalachian Trail. The show is being advertised as “an acoustic campfire musical mixed with a true crime podcast” and while both of those elements are present, they both need to be fleshed out, especially the true crime aspect of the story. Future iterations would benefit from songs that move the plot along more quickly (the main characters, Maine and Charlie, should meet way earlier in the story) and more clearly (when the big plot twist occurred near the end of the show, there were several missed opportunities to give us insight into why and how the crime occurred.)
The production also suffers from some design flaws. The action of the show takes place across five different locations in the woods and much of the time on stage was spent moving furniture on and off stage to indicate location changes. A future production should avoid so many set changes. Finally, while Rowan is clearly a talented musician, composer, and singer, her voice did not carry well on stage. I think I only heard about a quarter of the lyrics she sang. A body mic could rectify that problem.
As director, Rowan assembled a talented cast. Standout performances include Nico Morandi-Zerpa as Charlie and Carolyn Fox Darville as the mother of the family. Both performers did a great job with the songs.
Static could be of interest to anyone interested in seeing a new musical in development from a talented young songwriter. But be warned that it is very much a work in progress.
Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.
Static: Noise of a New Musical has two more performances, on July 22 and 24, 2022, at 3 Stars – Formerly DSW Georgetown, 3270 M St. NW, Washington, DC. To see the performance schedule and purchase tickets ($15), go online.
COVID Safety: The audience is to remain masked for the show. The mask needs to cover your mouth and nose the whole time. Proof of vaccination and ID are checked before entry.
Genre: Musical
Age appropriateness: 13+
