‘Getting Through April’ @ MusicalWriters.com
Photos courtesy of MusicalWriters.com
—Carol M. Rice
New works can be a hard sell. New musicals, an even harder sell. And new musicals about mental illness? Forget about it...unless you’re fortunate enough to know Rebecca Lowrey, whose mission with the group MusicalWriters.com is “to show the world that Dallas/Fort Worth is a vibrant hub for new musical creation and development.” (Quoted from Lowrey’s Director’s Note in the program.)
Lowrey recently brought Brent Black’s hilarious Khan!!! The Musical! to life here in DFW, but her production of Elle Tyler’s Getting Through April marks the first show to be presented at MusicalWriters.com’s brand-new venue, a cozy former warehouse space near Fair Park.
Getting Through April begins and ends on New Year’s Eve as four friends look toward their futures—though Lina just wants to try to make it through the year without falling into a deep depression, as she has in years past. It isn’t really clear until a few scenes later exactly why she has pulled away from her friends, but it’s soon apparent that she would be lost without her roommate Holly, a talented artist who is mostly able to keep Lina on track—until she isn’t.
As Holly, Lexi Nieto brings fire and compassion, not to mention amazing vocals, to her multi-layered performance. We feel for her as she struggles, and cheer her on as she tries everything in her power to help her friend. Everyone should have a friend this devoted, and Nieto’s portrayal of love and frustration and betrayal is beautiful to watch.
Brigitte Wilson’s Lina is the opposite of Holly: co-dependent and often despondent, she does almost nothing to help herself get better, including skipping her therapy appointments and not taking her meds. Her songs are filled with self-loathing and doubt, which are heartbreakingly reflected in her portrayal. Wilson’s facial expressions and body language are a master class in subtlety. This is a hard character to play because it’s difficult for an audience to root for someone so bent on self-sabotage.
Ben Meaders portrays Lina’s boyfriend Craig, who obviously loves Lina—but since we don’t get any backstory about their relationship it’s hard to understand why. Craig comes across as somewhat shy in the beginning, as it seems their relationship is still getting off the ground (though it’s been six months). But he grows stronger the more Lina pulls away. Meaders’ character development throughout the show is excellent, especially opposite Wilson.
As Holly’s boyfriend Mark, Joshua Sherman is supportive not only to Holly, but also to Lina. Mark and Craig seem to be good “bros,” and it would have been nice to know if they were friends before they happened to be dating these roommates. Sherman brings out the humanity in Mark, especially when caring for Lina, and when he realizes he’s made a mistake with Holly.
The song titles were unfortunately not listed in the program or on the website, but Elle Tyler, who wrote music and lyrics as well as the book, has created some really beautiful stuff—and under the direction/musical direction of Rebecca Lowrey the cast truly shines. Lowrey has crafted a well-paced show, never letting the more serious scenes bog down, while bringing out the best in her singers. The story itself felt a little unfinished in places; I think a stronger opening with a little more exposition would help fix some of the confusion my friend and I felt when discussing the show afterwards.
Something that did really help tell the story was a TV screen at the back of the set. It usually just let us know where we were during the year, but some of the additional projections were also significant. Perhaps a few more of them (not too many) would have been helpful. Projections design was by Lexi Nieto.
The simple yet effective set design was by Paige Triplett, aided by Brooke Potts’ lighting design—surprisingly elaborate for the small space but so well done. Evie Atwell’s costume design was also quite effective, especially the onstage changes for Lina.
One of the many things I liked about this show was that the band was simply a piano (Lowrey) and percussion (Kami Lujan). And another was that the actors weren’t wearing mics! It’s so refreshing to hear live, unamplified voices in a musical, something becoming increasingly rare. Lowrey understands the acoustics in her new space, so never once did the music drown out the singers (although I did lose an occasional spoken line here and there).
I love small, inimate musicals like Getting Through April because they’re usually telling simple stories about real people. No big production numbers or flashy costumes, just relatable situations that happen to be presented through music and song. And Getting Through April is, in the end, about friendship—something we all need and can relate to.
Getting Through April only runs through January 5, so be sure to catch it while you can!
WHEN: December 29, 2024-January 5, 2025
WHERE: 2422 S. Malcolm X Blvd., Dallas
WEB: musicalwriters.com/gettingthroughapril/
