Noir, a world premiere musical by Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow, opened Thursday as the 75th season finale for the Alley Theatre. From the Tony Award-winning creative team to the talented cast, many of which have starred in or originated roles on Broadway, the Alley took no shortcuts when it came to producing this new work. I was fortunate enough to attend opening night and there are three weeks of the run remaining so you can also catch a performance of this great new show. Whether you've been lucky enough to see a Duncan Sheik musical in the past or not, don't miss this opportunity to see his newest groundbreaking work while it is in Houston. For a sneak preview, check out the opening number "Spy in the Shadows" at vimeo.com/711642432.
Noir stars a reclusive, heartbroken Neighbor (Adam Kantor, The Band's Visit) who is hung-up on his late lover Scarlett (Christy Altomare, Anastasia). As new tenants move in next door, The Neighbor's obsession shifts to eavesdropping through the paper thin walls and learning too much about the dark secrets held by The Husband and The Wife. While the production dove right into one of the catchier songs right from the start, the plot took a bit longer to draw in the audience. By the end of Act I, if not well before, the audience seemed captivated and intrigued by the progression of the storyline, but this feeling took longer to set in than with other shows, even by these same artists. Additionally, there were moments where the dialogue felt stale or forced, but all of these setbacks were greatly overshadowed by the immense talent on stage. The entirety of the cast has had New York theater experience, with some members even originating roles in Tony-winning or Tony-nominated productions. These seven performers made up for any flaws in the work itself with their beautiful vocals, refined dancing, and intense acting.
Beyond the cast, the creative team also deserves recognition for their staged film noir creation. Duncan Sheik is best known for his first Broadway musical composition Spring Awakening, the show which also earned him two Tony Awards in 2006. Since that production, he has written a few other musicals, but none as popular as his first. For Noir, Sheik collaborated with Kyle Jarrow, who received a Tony nomination for writing the book for the Broadway musical SpongeBob SquarePants. The duo found inspiration for this new work in film noir of the 40s and 50s, while actress Sinclair Daniel (who plays The Kid) told me in a recent interview, the show would fall into a "neo-neo-noir" genre with the degree they've adapted the the Hitchcock-esque films to the stage. The lighting and scenic designers found a middle-ground between keeping the 50s feeling in the props and room designs and applying modern elements such as digital screens to the windows of the surrounding apartments in the background. The central pieces of the set are two apartments next door to one another with mirrored layouts that both rolled fully on and off stage as needed in a scene.
Despite the flaws in the script, Noir is a beautifully designed show that embodies the nostalgic film noir genre while also showcasing the extensive talent of both the cast and creative teams. Noir is on-stage at the Alley Theatre through July 9th. For more information about the Alley Theatre and their recently announced 2022-2023 season, please visit alleytheatre.org. For more Broadway updates, tune into my KTRU specialty show “Showstoppers” weekly on Sundays from 1:45 to 2:45 pm on air and online at ktru.org. I will be replaying a recent interview with actress Sinclair Daniel during this week's show and will publish that interview online afterwards as well.