The best works of theater are thought-provoking and entertaining, balancing theme and spectacle to excite audiences while also moving them to contemplate what they’ve seen and to leave the theatre with something they didn’t have when they entered. “Adding Machine: A Musical,” playing at Studio Theatre, is a prime example of that. The performance is both delightful and disturbing, subverting musical conventions and ultimately making for a must-see theatrical endeavor.
The piece, written by Jason Loewith (who also directs this production) and composer Joshua Schmidt, is an adaptation of the 1923 play, “The Adding Machine,” by American expressionist playwright Elmer Rice.
The story takes us through the life, death and afterlife of Mr. Zero as he struggles to overcome his status as a working drone in an accounting firm.
When Zero is replaced by an adding machine, he snaps and kills his boss. Everything begins spiraling out of control as Zero faces demons both past and present in his struggle to find a “square deal” in a life and death that are seemingly stacked against him.
From the start, things are not as they should be. The first song — a dissonant and amelodic quartet — sets the tone for what is anything but a conventional “musical.”
There is nothing catchy here — no number to stick in the heads of the audience when they leave; however, that seems to be the point. Schmidt waters his musical garden from a well of modernism; there are echoes of Schoenberg, Stravinsky and a whole host of other big names from that era. This alone does not comprise the music, though. Many other styles prevalent in 1920s music, such as gospel — as in “The Gospel According to Shrdlu” — make this a veritable revue of the music of the time. The music is immaculate; it never feels forced and tells the story almost as well as the script does.
But this would all be for naught without a solid group of performers. The music was atonal, arrhythmic and immensely complex, but in the hands of this capable ensemble, it seemed simple. Mrs. Zero’s first song, “Something to Be Proud Of,” finds actress Joanne Schmoll effortlessly moving through rapid, complex rhythms as though it were second nature, making for an impressive display and potentially the show’s highlight in terms of technically demanding performances.
It would be hard to pick a “show stopping” number, however, as the cast was a true ensemble, working together in such a way that no performer truly stood out as the “best.” David Benoit, playing the maligned Mr. Zero, is perhaps the only notable exception to this.
He never would have survived if a single breath or word had been out of place in “Office Reverie” or “In Numbers,” two immaculate ensemble numbers employing contrapuntal dissonance to mesmerizing effect. Just watching it was exhausting. However, it was thoroughly engaging as well.
Not once did the performance cease to be interesting and compelling, even though a few jokes in the script seemed ill-placed and a little unnecessary. Even these were minor speed bumps that hardly detracted from the overall quality of the piece.
Most notable about “Adding Machine: A Musical” was the way Loewith presented the audience with a more ambiguous picture than was initially painted in the original play. As the show progresses, Mr. Zero’s innocence comes into question.
The audience must grapple with more than simply an oppressive society; one of the main issues was just how much of Mr. Zero’s plight was a result of his not getting a “square deal,” and how much of it was his own fault.
This is key, as it raises a question that it never answers and forces the audience to consider the issue of victimization. Is society truly the devil, or are the members of society also part of the problem? Is Mr. Zero denied what he is owed, or is he simply presumptuous in his sense of entitlement? This question, obviously a pertinent one in the 1920s, is also very powerful today.
The fact that it is so aptly presented, with stark, angular aesthetics that captivatingly defy convention, makes this musical a must-see for anyone who enjoys theater, music and insightful social commentary that is more even than heavy-handed in its accusations of not just the machine, but the man who oils it as well.
“Adding Machine: A Musical” runs through Nov. 8 at Studio Theatre. Student rush tickets are available for $19 the day of the show when presented with valid student ID.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
