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Reproduced below as it could be behind a paywall.
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
(Alliance Theater, Atlanta; 750, seats; $85 top)
By Frank Rizzo
An Alliance Theatre presentation of a musical in two acts by Stephen King. Music by John Mellencamp. Directed by Susan V. Booth. Music direction, T Bone Burnett.
Joe McCandless - Shuler Hensley
Monique McCandless - Emily Skinner
Drake McCandless - Justin Guarini
The Shape - Jake La Botz
Frank McCandless - Lucas Kavner
Dan Corker - Christopher L. Morgan
Jack McCandless - Peter Albrink
Andy McCandless - Travis Smith
Anna Wicklow - Kylie Brown
Jenna - Kate Ferber
Young Joe - Royce Mann
The pairing of roots rocker John Mellencamp and horror scribe Stephen King for a Southern Gothic musical may sound irresistible. But it takes more than a groove and gore to make this tedious tale of brotherly bile work on stage. Sketchy character development, awkward staging and unclear storytelling make prospects for future life iffy beyond this world preem at Atlanta's Alliance Theater.
Tale centers on two pairs of young adult siblings, one duo in 1967 and the other in 2007. The '60s brothers Jack (Peter Albrink) and Andy (Travis Smith) battle over Jenna (an alluring Kate Ferber). All three come to tragic ends in a cabin in the Mississippi woods -- witnessed by little brother Joe (Royce Mann) -- as the tuner begins.
The departed trio haunts the cabin, which is where the 2007 brothers -- the sons of the now-adult Joe (Shuler Hensley) and his wife Monique (Emily Skinner) -- also fight over a girl, Anna (Kylie Brown).
Older Joe has gathered his family to tell the full story of what he saw when he was 10, but his hesitancy drags on for most of the show. When "the truth" is finally revealed, it isn't much of a surprise, though what comes after is -- because it is so poorly set-up.
Presiding over the twin shaggy dog tales is a devilish spirit named The Shape (Jake La Botz), and there's a good ghost (Christopher L. Morgan) hanging around too, though his back story is less than a fleeting thought.
Mellencamp's songs either provide character comment, action accompaniment or honkytonk atmosphere, and while giving the show some percussive power, they rarely lift the proceedings emotionally. T. Bone's Burnett's music direction and Andy York's arrangements are tops.
Perfs struggle to find authenticity for one-note or contradictory characters. Hensley plays the single tortured-soul chord throughout; La Botz does slinky evil well but even this shtick grows tiresome; Skinner's character is all over the place but gets a boost from her solo songs. The quartet of brothers tend to blur in their constant bickering, though Guarini's singing is strong, as is Morgan's.
But the principal weakness is King's unfocused storytelling. The pairs of brothers are ill-defined beyond a few broad strokes and the dialogue is clunky and crude. ("It's the heaven that's got lost and that's the hell of it.")
Helmer Susan V. Booth, who is also a.d. at the Alliance, doesn't help matters with a lot of the playing done upstage, characters wandering in and out of the cabin for little purpose, tableau vivant poses and lovers' leaps that are almost comic. By the end of the show, you may yearning for "Carrie."
Songs: That's Me, That's Who I Am, So Goddamn Smart, How Many Days, Home Again, And You Are Blind, What's Going On Here, Brotherly Love, My Name Is Joe, Tear This Cabin Down, Lounging Around in Heaven, And Your Days Are Gone, One Belle Reve Time, Jukin', Put Me in the Ground, What Kind of Man Am I, Away From This World, A Rose for Poor Anna, The Truth Is Here.
Sets, Todd Rosenthal; costumes, Susan E. Mickey; lighting, Robert Wierzel, sound, Clay Benning; projections, Adam Larsen; music arrangements, Andy York; production stage manager, Pat A. Flora; choreography, Daniel Pelzig. Opened, reviewed April 11. Running time: TWO HOURS, 30 MIN. Runs through May 13.
With: Jeremy Aggers, Lori Beth Edgeman, Gwen Hughes, Dale Watson, Joe Jung, Joe Knezevich, Rob Lawhon, Joseph Signa, Ryan Wortherspoon.
Here's one:
Next week, in part II: my review.
Here's the track listing. Visit Rolling Stone's website to hear Elvis Costello's version of "That's Me" (at the bottom of the page).
"That's Me," Elvis Costello
"That's Who I Am," Neko Case
"So Goddamn Smart," Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow
"Wrong, Wrong, Wrong About Me," Elvis Costello
"Brotherly Love," Frank and Drake
"How Many Days," Kris Kristofferson
"You Are Blind," Ryan Bingham
"Home Again," Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Taj Mahal
"What's Going On Here," Rosanne Cash
"My Name Is Joe," Clyde Mulroney
"Tear This Cabin Down," Taj Mahal
"And Your Days Are Gone," Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin
"Jukin'," Sheryl Crow
"What Kind of Man Am I," Kris Kristofferson, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow Dave Alvin, Taj Mahal
"So Goddamn Good," Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, Sheryl Crow
"Away From This World," Sheryl Crow
"Truth," John Mellencamp
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-mellencamps-musical-with-stephen-king-nearing-completion-20121114#ixzz2CDQkj0eF
http://www.ghostbrothersofdarklandcounty.com/
A new Rosanne Cash track would be exciting all by itself. But make it a collaboration with Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, and it becomes something altogether more impressive.
You Don't Know Me, premiering at USA TODAY, is Cash's contribution to the all-star recording of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical featuring libretto by King, music and lyrics by Mellencamp and production from Burnett. The album is set for a June 4 release.
"You Don't Know Me is a great song, whether you hear it within the Ghost Brothers story or all by itself," says Cash, who sings in the character of Monique, the wife of a man whose brothers died in an apparent murder/suicide. "Whenever John, Stephen and T Bone ask you to be a part of something, the answer has to be yes, doesn't it?"
The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County album also features Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case, Taj Mahal, Ryan Bingham, Kris Kristofferson and others. King, Mellencamp and Burnett spent 13 years collaborating on the music, which premiered last spring in Atlanta.
Looking forward to hearing the entire album even more!
>>> Read more, including list of locations/dates
John
So, think of it as a King script (that's how the libretto is formatted) with Mellencamp lyrics injected every so often.
John
John