TEETH
ORIGINAL [Second Stage] OFF-BROADWAY CAST
Yellow Sound Label
Digital

Not for the squeamish or those with a taste only for the caviar of musicals, Teeth is an audacious adaptation of the sex-centric same-named cult horror film. Is it crass? Clever? Unsophisticated? Unsettling? Subversive? Strikingly satirical? Arguably, all of the above, in various doses. A myriad of synonyms for genitals is employed in the lyrics and dialog in this saga of Dawn, a teenaged girl who discovers that located beyond her labia is a set of teeth that can clamp down on and cut off whatever is placed inside, with potentially fatal results for other people.

We might be reminded of the warning sign reading "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" at the gates of Hell in Dante's The Divine Comedy. Not all characters are forewarned here, but there is comedy, divinity (a connection to an ancient goddess), and Hell is a potential fate on the minds of Dawn, her peers, and the local pastor (her stepfather). This cast recording of Teeth (lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, music by Anna K. Jacobs, book by both) is a wild ride with often brash musical numbers, broad characterizations and a few blissfully sweet moments.

The 17-track digital release of the project the collaborators began developing 15 years ago represents the production seen at Manhattan's Second Stage in the early part of this year. Seven actors from that 11-person cast are repeating their roles several blocks north at New World Stages where Teeth officially opened on Halloween. No longer in the cast but a significant presence on the album is Steven Pasquale, doubling as the intimidating and punishing man of the cloth and a pervy gynecologist. As the pastor, Pasquale is rather a monster, but it's great to hear his grand voice booming; as the doctor, he's hilariously over-the-top creepy. Dramatis personae include six females (half of them played by folks still in the company) who join Dawn as Promise Keepers, vowing to abstain from sex until marriage. In character, the women's voices are strong in the power ballad territory and unified "girl power" singing, bringing a new meaning to the term "chastity belt."

Alyse Alan Louis, who has a long history with the gestating project, is dynamic as Dawn, showing a range of vocal colors and moods in the large role that has her interacting in different ways with the various characters. Resisting or giving in to lusty temptation cues some sung moments that can dramatically change the (inter)course of events, allowing for contrasting musical sections and some dialogue. Some songs are campy fun, a couple are pop earworms, more than a few are bombastic and/or rely on mega-repetition of a key line, often the title. The duet "Modest Is Hottest" has that three-word statement in its lyric 23 times, but the frequency doesn't convince me that those two adjectives truly rhyme. Its melody is cute and Jason Gotay, playing Dawn's boyfriend, and Alyse Alan Louis sparkle together, singing the praises of dressing demurely.

Performances feel committed and a sometimes combustive 11-piece band accompanies the mixed bag of musical episodes. Some terrific singing, a cheery melody or two (I'm charmed by "According to the Wiki") and well-done wildness are entertaining. These assets might offset the off-putting voluminous vulgar verbiage and the satire that gets tiring. Teeth mostly lingers in the world of the virginal and the vaginal, but its portrait of religiously imposed guilt and resisting physical pleasure is its own guilty pleasure.

THE STATIONMASTER
A MUSICAL DRAMA
Auburn Jam Records
CD | Digital

A gripping, haunting musical drama, The Stationmaster is based on playwright Ödön von Horváth's last play, Judgment Day, and it is a saga of decisions and deception, terror and trust, truth and lies. It's a powerful tale of twists and turns with stirringly emotional songs. The ever-thickening plot concerns Tom Price, a man in charge of supervising the safe movements of approaching trains and working the crucial signals to prevent possible accidents. When he is distracted due to the flirtatious interaction with a young woman named Anna, he loses his sense of time and misses the chance to send a warning signal in time to prevent a fatal crash. He struggles with the choice of whether to be honest about his negligence and face the consequences or to insist that he sent the signal and somehow it wasn't heeded. Anna could bolster his alibi or turn him in as a witness and the same dilemma is shared by Tom's wife, Catherine, who observed his interaction with Anna from a window.

The strong music and lyrics are by Tim Connor and the well-matched script is by Susannah Pearce. The time and place for the original play's debut and the action therein were Germany in the 1930s, and the warning-worthy danger in the piece is widely viewed as a cautionary allegory alluding to the Nazi threat. But the writers of The Stationmaster have relocated the story to a small town in England (where the musical has seen productions prior to this recording) and moved the action to the 1950s. As the married Prices, talented Nigel Richards and Jessica Sherman have played their roles on stage and are consistently commanding in their committed, poignant portrayals in the moods that illustrate anguish, anger, caring, regret, and desperate pleading as they (and the effective Alex Young as Anna) stick to or veer from their feelings that dishonesty is the best policy. Things get rather heavy and harrowing, but there's some relief from the steady streams of sturm und drang with Nicola Sloane's bright bursts of energetic characterization in her work as the town busybody, bringing forth tasty food and testy attitude.

While the sung material admirably serves the story, most of the lyrics are so specific to the incidents and character names involved that it's difficult to imagine most of their content working as stand-alone pieces being performed out of context. However, there are exceptions with attractive melodies that are much more than functional plot-advancers, with highlights such as the reprised numbers (with changes in lyrics): the passionate urge to "Run Away"; the variations on the song "Anna"; and the achingly beautiful melancholy the laments "Life Goes On" and "Silent Grief." Singing radiates with emotion, whether throbbingly so or more tenderly, as in the simplicity of "Tuck You In" sung by John Coates with heartbreak in his voice.

The instrumental accompaniment underlines and enhances the moods, especially spot on in the sorrowful passages, when building tension and propelling the action where dialogue is underscored. Kudos to musical director/pianist Chris Guard who is joined by a woodwinds player and string players: a violinist, cellist, and a bassist (who doubles as percussionist). Jason Carr provides the potent orchestrations.

While there is a chorus of townspeople supporting or condemning Tom, some other performers have more spoken material than songs. This premiere studio cast recording is available in various forms. It is the 2-CD set of 36 tracks of songs and dialogue, labeled "The Complete Work," that was submitted for review. Listening to that is involving, reminiscent of a radio play, and it allows us to be very much pulled in. Sympathies may shift. Most of the songs can be heard in the more abbreviated offering download. However, there's still a fair amount of (underscored) dialogue within some songs and lyrics are quite plot-specific, so the shorter-length option won't leave you completely in the dark while experiencing this dark musical. It's intense and impactful, especially on first exposure, with moments of beauty and is thoroughly theatrical, with sometimes a feel of a classic tragedy, morality play, and psychological study.