In My Life – Flop of the Millenium

In 2005, when I was going to Pratt Institute and on the cusp of giving myself to Musical Theater completely. I read a Broadway.com review (back when they wrote reviews and not just interviewed nobody's opinions of shows) about a show called In My Life. It was a huge mess, the review told me. I need to see this! Then before I knew it, the show had closed.

Now folks I have seen my fair share of flops, but this one takes the cake. Written , music and directed by Joseph Brooks. The show is about a boy with turrets who falls in love with a girl. When he is emotional he swears in rhymes. Dick, sick, flick, hick! But when he's happy he says lemon! Meanwhile an Angel is playing with these two people's lives. For his REALITY OPERA.

(This is the boy with turrets. He is so adorable in this show)

Yes, I'm not making this up. As well as this story arch. There is the fact that the boy is dying of a tumor (to make the opera more dramatic) and his dead sister is in Heaven watching this all happen (the little girl can't act, but has a voice on her like nothing I've ever heard before on American Idol). When the dead sister isn't watching her brother rhyme swears. She is dully conversing with God. In some of the boriest book scenes I have ever seen. God is a fat man named Al who wears a backwards baseball cap all the time.

Yet the show is one of the most fucked up musicals I have ever seen. The story is utterly confusing, but horribly simple. Mr. Brooks tries to stuff emotions in your face and expects you to cry. But before you can get a tear out the silly gay Angel appears and makes the scene ascend it's ridiculousness!

I love the show though. It's such a guilty treasure to watch I feel like I'm going to die knowing something that people will never experience. The show is a total sensory fuck! It is like taking a journey into a mad egotists mind.

What to see though is the Ultimo Finale! When the turret afflicted boy dies. The characters assemble in a singing battle. His dead mother who sings opera like it's know ones business, she's my favorite. There's a scene when he's remembering his mother singing opera and a set of a kitchen lowers down and she's doing dishes singing phenomenally. That was one hot scene!

So everyone in the finale gets their chance to belt it out. The turrets boy goes to heaven...

Then when you least expect it, God decides they shouldn't die. But it's not just any wedding. Gay angle floats down with a giant lemon and all the characters assemble to wed the two kids.

Oh but did I mention this is right after the man who hit turret boy's dead sister tells her she killed her. Because well he's dead too and in heaven. Oh did I mention that character existed? No? Well I didn't even realize it until that scene.

This is the stuff my dreams are made of. I swear!