Broadway Theater Review: Holler If Ya Hear Me

The Boom Box: Rappers Words, Music Lend Themselves to a New Version of Juke Box Musical
By Lauren Yarger
Instead of songs of Abba, Jersey Boys, Carole King or other composers from the Juke Box era forming the foundation for a plot to bring them together (and some do it better than others), Todd Kriedler uses the words and music of a more recent chart topper, the late hiphop/rap star Tupac Shakur, to tell a story of inner-city life in Holler If Ya Hear Me.

He and Director Kenny Leon (who won the Tony for his work on last season’s revival of Raisin in the Sun) bring the Juke Box Musical into a new time zone and create the “Boom Box Musical,” if you will, with tunes more modern than Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys or Carole King. While the two former musicals succeed because of the strength of their books, most in the genre don’t satisfy because the stories so obviously are just a means to presenting 20 to 30 popular tunes.

Holler If You Hear Me lands somewhere in the middle. This music is hardly the sing-along variety. Shakur’s lyrics express real, sometimes harsh emotions. The music is driving, with a loud beat befitting the tough streets of the Midwestern industrial city where the action (and choreography by Wayne Cilento) takes place. Shakur himself was a victim on the violence depicted (he was killed in a drive-by shooting 1996, though this story is not biographical). The plot is fairly predictable here, however, and characters fit neatly into stereotypes so that the action can move quickly from song to song.

A quick synopsis -- much like the plot:

John (Saul Williams, Slam) returns from a stint in prison to find that his girl, Corinne (Saycon Sengbloh) is now with his best friend, Vertus (Christopher Jackson). He tries to start over with a job at the Griffin, the local auto body shop owned by a father and his son, Griffy (Ben Thompson), who hopes one day everyone will be able to get along. There’s a gang taking over, however, and they kill Vertus’ younger brother, Benny (Donald Webber, Jr.) and threaten his mother, Mrs. Weston (Tonya Pinkins, who shines), if he doesn’t meet their demands.

All of the folks in the hood seem unable to resist becoming involved in the violence. Mrs. Weston begs her son to change his life so she can avoid having to bury another son. Also reminding the neighbors about the Good News is a Street Preacher (John Earl Jelks). The neighborhood folks all care for him in his homeless state and their care for him demonstrates what might be possible on the block if everyone can band together and resist the temptation to seek vengeance.

A large ensemble completes the cast which performs 21 musical numbers including “My Block,” “I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” “If I Die 2Nite,” “Thugz Mansion,” “Ghetto Gospel,” “Dear Mama” and the title song. The stage (designed by Edward Pierce based on original concepts by David Gallo) is stark, with minimal props. Projections (by Zachary G. Borovay) help set locations, but most impressive is the lighting designed by Mike Baldassari who expertly creates mood. When characters are down, it’s darker. When they are angry, lights become brash and move with the pounding beat of the music (which puts some of Shukar’s poems to notes and is supervised here by Daryl Waters).

Stadium seating is used to eliminate more than 500 seats on the orchestra level of the gigantic Palace Theatre to move the audience closer to the stage and to create a more intimate atmosphere. The typical Broadway crowd hasn’t yet embraced the hiphop/rap mix, however, so even with fewer seats, tickets aren’t flying out the box office and there were plenty available on all levels the evening I attended.

It’s worth the trip, though, especially if you are fan of the music – the audience members who were in seats were bopping along with the beat. All of them – young, old, black, brown, white, male, female – so  2Pac’s music still has appeal. And a couple of the tunes sound like actual Broadway-type ballads rather than what you might expect to come out of a boom box.

Holler If Ya Hear Me runs at the Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway at 47^th St., NYC. http://hollerifyahearme.com/. CLOSING ANNOUNCED FOR JULY 20.