HANDS ON
A HARDBODY
(Review from the New York Times)
This
show is both touching and upbeat. For those of us who are tired of most
musicals, in recent years, being either imports or revivals this is quite refreshing.
The premise is simple, win a truck by keeping your hands on it the longest. It is based on an actual event that took place at a dealership in Texas in 1996 and the subsequent documentary. I was never a great fan of Phish but Trey Anastasio hit the mark here.
The stark staging and lack of scenery along with the emphasis on the individual stories of the contestants has drawn comparisons to Chorus Line. I have even seen it referred to as the red neck Chorus Line. While there may be some validity to this I also saw parallels to The Fantastics. The red truck, like the wall in The Fantastics, is a metaphor. In this case for the great American dream that seems to be slipping away from so many segments of our society. This leads to extensive discussions of everything from 401ks to immigration in the course of the show.
The performances are all excellent, particularly Keith Carradine and Hunter Foster. There may be a few production numbers that fall short of the mark, such as the choreography for the song stronger, but they do not detract from the show enough to matter.
In short, a wonderful night at the theater. If you do not like serious musical drama ( I'm not sure that is even a term but I don't know how else to categorize it) then go see Lion King or Spiderman.
The premise is simple, win a truck by keeping your hands on it the longest. It is based on an actual event that took place at a dealership in Texas in 1996 and the subsequent documentary. I was never a great fan of Phish but Trey Anastasio hit the mark here.
The stark staging and lack of scenery along with the emphasis on the individual stories of the contestants has drawn comparisons to Chorus Line. I have even seen it referred to as the red neck Chorus Line. While there may be some validity to this I also saw parallels to The Fantastics. The red truck, like the wall in The Fantastics, is a metaphor. In this case for the great American dream that seems to be slipping away from so many segments of our society. This leads to extensive discussions of everything from 401ks to immigration in the course of the show.
The performances are all excellent, particularly Keith Carradine and Hunter Foster. There may be a few production numbers that fall short of the mark, such as the choreography for the song stronger, but they do not detract from the show enough to matter.
In short, a wonderful night at the theater. If you do not like serious musical drama ( I'm not sure that is even a term but I don't know how else to categorize it) then go see Lion King or Spiderman.
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