James Wilson takes a look at From Here at the Signature Center:
On June 12, 2016, the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was (at the time) the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. It remains the most violent assault on LGBTQ+ people. Set in the months leading up to the Pulse shooting, From Here, now playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center (although not a Signature Theatre production), focuses on a queer community in Orlando. The traumatic events loom large, but the alternately cheerful, bitchy, and rueful musical goes to great lengths to show the resilience, pride, and fabulousness of the Florida denizens. The show intends to be a gushy love letter to the community rather than a mournful elegy, but it is most successful when it gives in to the emotional impact of the shooting. |