I'm SO amused

[jay_moose]

The ambitious, epic new musical Journey to the West is in fact a journey to the Far East. Set in China, its cast of characters includes Buddha, monks and a monkey king. Richard Oberacker’s music is often stirring, successfully blending Asian and Broadway influences. Unfortunately, it’s overamplified, and the actors at times indulge in American Idol-style histrionics.

Oberacker (conductor of Cirque du Soleil’s Ka in Las Vegas) also directs, and he has recruited talented alums of the short-lived Las Vegas Avenue Q for the lead roles. Steven Booth plays Jiang-Lai, an arhat or “buddha to be” who must return to earth and climb Thunderclap Mountain; Angela Ai is Kuan-Yin, the goddess who guides Jiang-Lai on his arduous journey. Both sing Oberacker’s soaring music beautifully. It is, however, rather distracting that the blond Booth looks more Norwegian than Chinese. (Most of the cast is white.)

Robert Taylor wrote the book and lyrics with Oberacker, and the story is too complicated to fully explain here. Suffice it to say that Jiang-Lai gets reincarnated as Riversong, who is raised by monks. For his journey he enlists a monkey king (W. Wong), a pig (Nicholas Kohn, another Avenue Q veteran) and a Rastafarian dragon named Tsunami (Philip Solomon). The latter has a Reggae-tinged solo that doesn’t fit in with the otherwise Chinese-accented score. Meanwhile, the vengeful Hou-Lai (David Girolmo) tries to sabotage Jiang-Lai/Riversong’s trip. But Buddha (Kevyn Morrow) is, naturally, wise enough to ensure that justice is done.

The nicely varied songs are more entertaining than the dialogue, and the quieter tunes tend to be better than the louder, showier ones. The dramatic number that ends the first act, “I’ve Learned Mine,” is a powerful power ballad that lets Ai show off her voice—at least until the over-the-top climax.

Oberacker writes lovely melodies, and the musicians (electric guitar, keyboards, percussion and bass) give the songs a slick pop sound. The entire production—Oberacker’s direction, Elizabeth Cox’s costumes, Kevin Frisch’s puppets, Andrew Palermo’s choreography and Bai Ge’s martial arts choreography—is colorful and unified. With some tightening of the book and lessening of the volume, Journey to the West could make a perilous trek of its own—to a commercial production.