It Shoulda Been You (2014)

Long Notes, Few Thoughts

Original musicals are feats in themselves. To create a show based on no original source material is an act of creative grit. When they excel, they can break new territory and thrill the masses. Sometimes they flop and lessons are learned. Sometimes their ingenuity is only recognized over time. And sometimes they are forgotten.

I can tell you that It Should Been You certainly did not cut through the noise. In fact, it hardly made noise in the eyes of the critics. It garnered a whopping 0 Tony Nominations. Yet, it still performed during the award show telecast (odd?).

So why did I see it? I made the mistake: I saw the names of those who were attached to the show and I bit. The show was directed by David Hyde Pierce and included a cast with Tyne Daly, Sierra Boggess, Harriet Harris, Montego Glover, Lisa Howard, David Burtka, Josh Grisetti, Adam Heller, Edward Hibbert, Anne L. Nathan, and THE Chip Zien. All of that star-power lured me in. I read some reviews to get some sense of it. Each review intimated a big plot twist. Little did I know that the twist would be about the sexuality of all of the main characters.

I came to learn that the show was most popular for its commentary on same-sex marriage and body positivity. While it could have been deemed "edgy," same-sex marriage was legalized during the run and Daly gave a speech about it after that day's performance. So, in some respects, you could call the show timely.

In general, the show was not captivating. It was predictable. There are only two parts that I recollect as clever which I will analyze below.

But let the main take-away be this: Never see a show just because of who is in it. Reviews serve a purpose and it is up to you to research as much as you would like before seeing the show.

And why . . . why I chose to see this when I could have seen Fun Home or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is something that I will regret 'til my dying day. 

.     .     .

The opening number had a gag where a phone went off over the speakers. The spotlight traveled to a box seat and the actor sang "It's a siiiiiiiiiiign" -- it went along with the plot, although I can't remember what led to the punchline. But the real bit was that he held the note as he ran from the box seat, down the aisle, out a door, through the backstage, and onto the stage. It was impressive vocally.

.     .     .

There was another lyric in the opening line that felt like the librettist being clever: "Even just to know you tried'll make me feel less suicidal." That's the only line from the show I remember.

Although, I do recall that in the song Montego Glover sang with David Burtka, I thought, I bet that would be a fun song to perform with a castmate.

.     .     .

Well, that's it. Seriously.

.     .     .

The next show I would see I only saw because my family and I lost the Hamilton "Ham4Ham Lottery". That loss was one of the biggest blessings in my life, for it allowed me to see the incomparable Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple.