Bulletins Over Broadway: “[title of show],” at St. Ambrose University through November 19

I knew next to nothing about [title of show] before attending Friday’s opening-night performance at St. Ambrose University. I was aware of it in the sense that I knew it was a musical, and I’ve had people tell me I would love it, given that I do so (too?) much theatre. Yet after finally seeing the show for myself, I’d say I left the theatre more entertained than enamored.

Upon entering St. Ambrose’s studio theatre, you’re greeted with pleasant purple hues and some soothing piano-bar music, played live by Colin Evers. There’s no set or scenic design of any kind – only a couple of chairs onstage. There’s no hidden surprise; no set pieces or even props lurking in the wings. Director Thomas Alan Taylor has staged the evening’s proceedings as marvelously minimal. The only things front and center are the actor’s performances and some fantastic lighting design by Aaron Hook.

But what is [title of show]? For starters, it has music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell, and its story is about two best buds, Jeff (Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt) and Hunter (Zach Ulmer), who, on a whim, decide to submit a show to an upcoming theatre festival. The only problems are that they don’t have a page of material and the deadline is three weeks away. What follows is the full life cycle of a play, from conception to production and beyond. During those initial three weeks, the buds bring in a couple other friends, Heidi (Julia Beltz) and Susan (Megan Rohn), and with the addition of these two new characters, and the chairs they bring with them, the cast is complete. Well, adding the excellent accompaniment Larry, played by Evers.

[title of show] is a comedy, though if Friday’s crowd was anything to go by, the giggles can be a bit hit and miss. This is no fault of any of the performers, as the script itself already feels surprisingly dated. As I was sitting in the audience, I would have sworn that the book was written in the early 2000s, when queer representation was seen as more of a punchline and women taking off their shirts was also somehow a punchline. For crying out loud, one of the characters even complains about their Commodore 64 crapping out on them! But while [title of show] initially debuted in 2004, it was iterated upon and revised through subsequent productions until its eventual Broadway debut in 2008. How disappointing, then, that the script doesn’t feel like the product of three-ish years of iteration, but of only three-ish weeks.

The audience sees all the trials of tribulations of trying to create something from nothing. Some of the scenes are talked through, some are sung, but all of them are about the show itself. Writer’s block, self-doubt, whether or not the whole thing is good enough … . Jeff and Hunter discuss these all ad nauseum. The musical belongs to that genre of theatre about theatre, and in particular, that sub-genre of musicals about musicals. It’s in the same neighborhood as Gutenberg! The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, and (to a lesser extent) The Producers: it knows what it is and it wants you to know that it knows what it is. Which can be fun! For a while.

I can’t help but feel like I am the target demographic for this show: Theatre Nerd Who Also Happens to Write Shows. And yet, during Friday’s performance, I found myself wanting to laugh but unable to do so. Maybe it was because of opening-night jitters. Maybe it was because of an overwhelming number of pop-culture references that largely flew over my head (and I suspect the heads of some of those delivering the punchlines). Maybe I just related too much to the characters. Whatever the cause, the effect was the same: It felt like things were on the verge of boiling over into greatness, but didn't quite reach the necessary temperature.

That I still ended up enjoying the evening, despite my quarrels with the book, is testament to Taylor's performers. Rohn provides some killer physical comedy, with gestures that land perfectly between chaotic and controlled. The appropriately named Beltz can sing with the best of them and lends Heidi plenty of charm. Ulmer wrangles what I think is the most off-putting role, and still manages to make Hunter sympathetic. And at the center of it all is the grounding, supremely enjoyable Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt, who does a wonderful job of supporting his younger cast members.

By and large, I enjoyed Friday’s performance. The whole cast sings their parts with aplomb and joy. And even if some of the jokes are a little opaque, so what? After all, one of the choruses in the show reads, “I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth-favorite thing.” If you’re a regular patron of the theatre, you could very well be one of those one in nine. Being one of 100 is all but a certainty.

[title of show] runs in the studio theatre of St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center (2101 North Gaines Street, Davenport IA) through November 19, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)333-6251 and visiting the event's Facebook page.