Off-Broadway Review: Broadway Bounty Hunter

Annie Golden and Alan H. Green. Photo: Matthew Murphy

Broadway Bounty Hunter
Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis
Book by Joe Iconis, Lance Rubin and Jason Sweettooth Williams
Directed and Choreographed by Jennifer Werner

By Lauren Yarger

Following the force of the cult musical Be More Chill selling out Off-Broadway and rolling onto Broadway last season, another funky show by Joe Iconis has found its way to a short Off-Broadway run at the Greenwich House Theatre. Like the composer's  sci-fi Be More Chill which appeals to teens, Broadway Bounty Hunter involves a plot using mind controlling drugs for evil purposes, but this story is about an older women, Annie (Annie Golden), an actress of a certain age, who isn't getting parts any more....  The real-life Golden, who made her mark in Hair, Assassins and most recently in the TV series “Orange is the New Black,” proves that she still can belt and deliver a very humorous performance (it is award- worthy).

Down-on-her-luck Annie, still mourning the loss of her beloved husband and laughed out of an audition by a director (Omar Garibay), Annie sees some hope when she is given a chance to train as a bounty hunter under master Shiro Jin (Emily Borromeo). Colleague Lazarus (Alan H. Green) doesn't think she has what it takes, but starts to see her in a different light when they take off on their first bounty hunter assignment together to bring back notorious drug dealer Mac Roundtree (Brad Oscar). Rounding out the cast are Badia Farha, Jasmine Forsberg, Jared Joseph, Christina Sajous and  Emilie Battle. Broadway veteran Anne L. Nathan (Once, Sunday in the Park with George) performs the title role at Saturday matinee performances.

There is a lot going on on the small stage set by Michael Schweikardt with Lighting Design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauser and Projection and Viceo Design by Brad Peterson. It can be a bit dizzying, especially when Choreographer/Director Jennifer Werner gets everyone moving.

But it's fun. I have become a quick fan of Joe Iconis's quirky, catchy scores. Despite not being a 12-year-old, I really liked Be More Chill and am sorry it didn't get more traction on Broadway or with Tony voters. "Michael in the Bathroom" and "Rich Set a Fire" and other songs from Be More Chill circulate through my brain regularly making e wonder if I have ingested some kind of pill that makes you love music of certain composers... And I liked Bounty Hunter, too, though it is less developed than the other. I related to the "woman of a certain age theme" and thoroughly enjoyed the production of a musical called Young People the Musical. Funny stuff. Alas. not everyone was a fan and the show will  close Sunday,  Aug. 18, a month earlier than originally scheduled.

More Information:

Broadway Bounty Hunter plays at Greenwich House Theater (27 Barrow Street, NYC). https://www.broadwaybountyhunter.com/

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FACTORS
-- Language
-- Risque costumes (design by Sarafina Bush)
-- God's name taken in vain
-- Sexual dialogue