Facing The Monster

Octet

In what may be the most original, imaginative and unbelievably creative musical I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience, OCTET is enjoying its magnificent Midwest debut. And this utterly fascinating, superbly electrifying, totally mesmerizing musical is guaranteed to rock you to your very core. It’s very different, fresh and unusual, sometimes funny, very often affecting and supercharged by its honest humanity. This may seem contradictory because the 95-minute one-act musical is about a group of people who are all addicted to the internet. It’s a beast, who they collectively refer to as the Monster.

Dave Malloy is a young American playwright, composer and lyricist. Although he’s written 14 musicals, Malloy’s probably best known for his electropop opera that’s based upon a single chapter from Tolstoy’s epic novel, War and Peace. He entitled his unique, sung-through musical NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. Among many other accolades, the show took home the 2017 Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Book and Best Musical. Not long after the splashy Broadway production, Glencoe’s Writers Theatre offered their own exquisite, multiple Jeff Award-winning version of the musical in 2024. 

But now Chicagoland is being treated to Dave Malloy’s gorgeous and bitingly honest chamber musical about the eight individuals who comprise a self-guided support group. Each of these folks are totally dependent upon and compulsively absorbed with various online networks. The composer and playwright shrewdly recognized that 21st century people of every age and walk of life are totally hooked on technology. Much like an addiction to drugs, alcohol, coffee and food, we’ve all become hopelessly lost on the information highway. Ambushed by this era of electronics, everyone walks around now with their noses stuck in their iPhones. And when they’re in the classroom or their offices or at home, these same folks fall under the glowing, hypnotic influence of the Monster of their computer screens.

But the real element that makes this particular musical so incredible and absolutely without equal is that it’s performed totally a cappella. That’s right—you heard me. There’s no band, no orchestra, nor any kind of instrumental accompaniment whatsoever. The entire score, which is totally intoxicating and magical, is created by the voices of the eight superbly talented actor/singers who make up the cast. In one especially creative moment, all of the performers lie on the floor and play a lovely harmonic prelude to the upcoming song on their pitch pipes. The harmonies produced by the production of chromatic tones is sublime. Each character gets their own solo musical monologue or duet, beautifully accompanied by the other actors. And the accompaniment for each song might be rhythmic, harmonic or simply a clever imitation of sounds from the digital world, all choreographed with simple body movement and facial expression.

Dave Malloy’s idea for this intimate musical is pure genius. The title refers to a group of eight. In computing, eight bits in is equal to one byte. It also references the eight musicians or performers in a musical ensemble. Then there are the compositions, which are all uniquely different and filled with different tonal shades and colors of emotion that balance one another. Each character’s song is an extension of their spoken dialogue, with the other members of the group lending their personal, harmonic support. Then there’s the magnificent guidance provided by the incomparable director Keira Fromm, gifted musical director Nick Sula and choreographer supreme, Laura Savage. This production team has worked flawlessly together as one. The trio has infused the show their talent, intuition, experience and personalities while they’ve molded and shaped this chamber piece.

The cast of eight gifted actor/singers is simply beyond superlative. Working beautifully together as an ensemble—and yet standing out as strong, individual characters—this company represents the finest of the Chicago talent pool. The cast is led by the always powerful and passionate Teressa LaGamba, as Paula. She’s the calm, articulate and supportive facilitator of this self help group, but is also a victim of internet addiction. She starts out apologizing that Saul, the group’s founder, won’t be with them tonight. Then Ms. LaGamba opens the self-help session with “The Forest,” encouraging the others to join her on an evening’s journey of self-discovery. 

Each of the seven participants then describes through a musical monologue their own specific addiction and how it’s affected their life. Jessica (a vibrant and vivacious Neala Barron) volunteers to go first, confessing her sadness over a loss of privacy with “Refresh.” Henry (sweetly portrayed by multitalented Sam Shankman) relates how he’s become lost in the internet world of video games, particularly a familiar entertainment about “Candy.” Paula confesses through “Glow” that she and her husband have grown apart while scrolling on their phones in bed at night. 

The group comes together again for “Fugue State,” during which they take turns describing the fun they’ve enjoyed on the internet. Velma (the brilliant Joryhebel Ginorio) is a delightful, innocent, slightly skeptical and intrigued young newcomer to the group. She tells the others of her passion for reading about magic, witchcraft and using Tarot cards online. In a clever duet, likable Karly (Grace Steckler) and Ed (Ryder Dean McDaniel) share their individual romantic pursuits on the internet, coming together in an obsession for viewing porn (“Solo”). Toby (the always excellent actor/singer Elliot Esquivel) describes in “Naturally” the kind of troubling acts of violence he’s discovered while on the Net. Marvin (the talented and dynamic Jordan Golding), who is a learned chemist, relates to the group an existential crisis when he and his fellow scientists encounter a “Little God.” 

The evening session ends with the “Tower Tea Ceremony,” that involves a drop of mind altering drug to their teacups. Velma, however, doesn’t drink her tea. Instead the young woman confesses that, for her, a positive side of being held prisoner by the Monster has resulted that she met another girl online who was very much like herself. Velma’s loneliness vanished as she discovered that, exactly like her new friend, she’s “Beautiful.” And then, just like that, the session concludes with a lovely hymn of hope entitled “The Field.”

Dave Malloy’s a cappella chamber piece is pure bliss. Director Keira Fromm has staged her production simply, upon a slightly elevated platform that represents an anonymous meeting room, somewhere in Chicago. She’s sensitively guided a contemporary story that’s especially au courant. The group of eight talented people who’ve come together brilliantly explore their individual and collective addiction to the internet. In facing the Monster that’s taken over their lives, eight hearts open up to us while eight souls are bared through Malloy’s deceptively simple score. But please: absolutely do not miss this unique, ravishing and resplendent new musical. Raven Theatre’s stellar production of OCTET connects the audience to today’s cultural landscape. And, in doing so, it takes a valiant stab at slaying the Monster that tightly holds each of us captive.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented April 30-June 7 by Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-338-2177 or by going to www.raventheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Photos by Joe Mazza