Some days, you hate everything. Brad Thompson (Max Rosen '06) opens the musical with a bitter piece directing vitriol at his father that soon evolves into a self-pitying complaint about his unhappy college life. Brad is serious, studious and very definitely awkward. Everything around him seems to be falling apart mercilessly; family, love life and academics crumble in quick succession. He also has what appears initially to be the devil's advocate masquerading as a friend in Sean (Craig Libman '06). It soon transpires, however-although it took quite a while for me to figure it out-that Sean is Brad's irreverent half, suppressed for an eternity and increasingly dominant. Think shades of Tyler Durden without the apocalyptic bent.
Sean incessantly plagues Brad with self-searching questions. For most of the first act, Sean is seemingly benign, and he occasionally even helps rid Brad of his inherent dorkiness. As the musical progresses, though, Sean begins to instruct Brad in belligerence and nastiness. The struggle for supremacy within Brad's mind comes to an inevitable head as Brad has to make a choice in his pursuit of attractive Heather (UMass student Vanessa Calantropo).
Additionally, Tanenbaum throws a number of Brad's suitemates into the mix. Most prominent of these is Amy Hastings (Smith student Diana Oh), who ultimately proves to be the most steadfast of his friends. Amy is involved in a subplot that springs from a minor twist in the story and takes on more significance in the play's later scenes. The remainder of the supporting cast is largely interchangeable, in a nod to the frail acquaintances one often makes at college. A highlight, however, is the limited appearance of Greg (Hampshire student Phillip O'Mara), who manages to accompany restrained music with hilarity. In what is also a gentle-and frankly very humorous-mockery of spoken word artists, O'Mara parodies with impeccable sobriety.
The orchestra has quite a bit to work with in spite of its obvious instrumental limitations. The scores, while inconsistent in quality, are laudable considering their complete originality. Tanenbaum, in fact, saves his best for last; "Sleep" is the payoff for an audience that probably would have predicted the conclusion without too much effort. Melissa Rodis '08, playing Naomi, is especially impressive in "Sleep," which marks the climactic scene.
A clear strength of Tanenbaum's writing is his inclusion of numerous realistic references to college life. Parties, arduous lectures and sweating over papers are things with which almost every undergraduate identifies-Tanenbaum cleverly interposes that last mode of torture into a ditty on Polish history. The subject of finding oneself in the midst of change is particularly applicable as well to the young adults who find their futures thrust into their hands. Amy and Naomi voice the thoughts we have had on occasion: "What happened to the girl who would call me up at midnight just to tell me there was a pretty cloud in the sky? / She grew up, Amy. And it's time you did, too."
Tanenbaum doesn't bring anything very new into the well-trodden emotions of nostalgia and staying true to oneself, but "Given Name" makes a feel-good case for them all the same. The musical stumbles, however, in its length (the rehearsal lasted almost two hours), pacing and convenience of resolution. There are scenes-at the pool table and the classroom-which would have fared better with trimming. Students also make for fickle audiences, and an unvaried tempo for a great portion of the musical causes the production as a whole to lag after intermission. Tanenbaum could do, too, without tired stereotypical devices as embodied by Peter (Ashish Bhatt '07), the decency-challenged alpha male.
Nevertheless, it remains that the musical is a work of monumental effort, and despite a sometimes flawed production, it is a labor of love that theater & dance and music double major Tanenbaum has accomplished. "It's really amazing to see a show start in your head and then end up on a stage," he said. "Things that you think would read well are actually impossible to deliver and then things you're certain will fail end up somehow falling into place." There is certainly much in "Given Name" that falls into place.