Theater: The God Squad
Theres no use decrying the trend of turning movies into musicals: Its here to stay. And like every trend, there are examples that transcend the genre (Grey Gardens) and those that turn it into farce (any recent Disney musical). Saved, the new musical based on the 2004 movie (which included an exclamation point in its title to get its point across), doesnt make a strong case for its new life as a musical, but nor does it offer up an evening of ass-numbing boredom. In a way, Saveds flashes of wit and zingers make the rest of the evening even more frustrating: The potential is obviously there, but the execution is off.
In brief, Saved details the trials and tribulations of Mary (an excellent Celia Keenan-Bolger), a student at the American Eagle Christian High School. A devout believer in Christ, Mary is one-third of teen singing group The Christian Jewels, along with her BFF Hilary Faye (Mary Faber) and the orally revirginized Lana (Juliana Ashley Hansen). She has a gorgeous boyfriend in Dean (Aaron Tveit), and a loving but slightly scattered mother (Julia Murney). Unfortunately, when Dean tells her that he thinks hes gay, Mary decides that Jesus wants her to screw the queerness out of him. Before long, hes packed off to be cured, and shes pregnant and questioning her faith.
Religion is always ripe for satire, and there are plenty of laughs and catchy tunes to be wrung from such fertile groundas the long-running off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz can attest. But nothing quite works out that well in Saved. Over-amped to such an extent that the singers sound as if theyre in a tunnel, the lyrics either sail past or land with a sickening thud. Not even the best performer could make the triple rhyme of clinic, Triaminic and cynic sound good, and songwriters Michael Friedman, John Dempsey and Rinne Groff rely far too heavily on repetition. In Marys first big solo, during which the first cracks in her faith begin to appear, every verse begins with a variation on Im not the kind of girl to take the Lords name in vain/ But if I were the kind of girl to take the Lords name in vain... After just two verses of that, you no longer care what kind of girl she is.
But if the songs are uniformly mediocre, the younger performers acting fares better. Keenan-Bolger almost manages to charm the audience into ignoring the paucity of her material through sheer force of will, while Morgan Weed, as the bad Jewish girl, and Curtis Holbrook as the angry, wheelchair-bound Roland, offer up comic portraits that never become too broad. But if Saved is grasping for a reason to exist, it finds one in Mary Fabers performance as the sweetly menacing Hilary Faye. The one time the evening lifts off the ground and soars can be found in Heaven, Hilary Fayes solo song, sung to her new BFF, Jesus. Choreographed with Busby Berkley–like delight and featuring lyrics that are both clever and character-illuminating, the whole number lifts you up on a fluffy pink cloud, before dropping you back to Hilary Fayes decidedly less pleasant reality. For fans of star-making performances, Faber makes Saved a must-see. But for a giddy good time, try Xanadu instead.
Through June 22. Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St. (betw. 9th & 10th Aves.), 212-279-4200; $70.