INVINCIBLE

About six months ago, I had the good fortune of meeting, and hanging-out with, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The occasion was the party after the announcement of the upcoming World Premiere of their new musical, Invincible, at the Wallis in Beverly Hills. And now it has finally opened!

I absolutely adored Neil and Pat; the show not as much. But it’s definitely worth seeing, on several levels. First of all, it’s Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo music, so there’s that. Their fans will be happy to hear their famous songs and discover the new ones. And the discerning Mr. X* really enjoyed it. He told me he kept looking forward to how each song would fit into the story. *[Note: Since he’s never been a fan of going out, that means this time was special, so I’ll be quoting him a lot in this review.]

And then there is the fact that it’s at the Wallis, where it’s always a pleasure to see anything! The sightlines and perfect seats make any theatrical experience there extra-special. I sat further back in the orchestra this time, and I still felt like I was on stage with the actors! (Mr. X is even lauding the entire staff there!)

With a cast of twenty-two, Invincible is a really big production! And it’s not your usual “jukebox musical,” despite being created to use mostly well-known Pat Benatar songs. Mr. X explains it as a “twentieth century version of Romeo and Juliet, seen through a new lens,” so we’ll go with what he says because I cannot describe it better than that. But I will add that there are some little differences in the narrative, (from what I remember of that tale.) However, I’m not discussing them here so as not to spoil any of it for you.

Mr. X was most impressed with the actual sound of the music; he said it sounded so good, in fact, that he thought it was pre-recorded. The fact that no musicians are seen on stage nor in their pit seemed to confirm his assumption. So he was shocked when the orchestra was shown on a screen during the curtain call; they play from a different area of the theatre.

He also noted that the “voices are consistently strong throughout.” But Mr. X and I, (who rarely agree on anything,) both deem Julia Harriman, (who plays what I assume is Juliet’s nurse, but seems more like her stylist,) to possess the stand-out voice, although she doesn’t sing much in the show.

As far as the acting goes, John Patrick Walker, as the Friar, injects some much-needed humor into the proceedings, so I appreciated him the most.

I’ve actually never seen any of the actors before, but I was glad to read that several of them went to UCLA, where I was once a dance major. And it’s where Mr. X and I met! (To his eternal regret.) So–Go Bruins!

Speaking of dancing, that art here, (choreographed by Galen Hooks,) is my favorite part of Invincible. The krump-dancing Mr. X feels the same way. The show definitely picks-up, a lot, with a scene at a club, which features a very exciting entrance into it. And there’s also an impressive, well-choreographed-and-executed fight scene, directed by Steve Rankin, towards the end.

We’re both fans of that ending because it’s done cleverly, which is always a pleasure to see. Kudos to the writer, Bradley Bredeweg, (whom I met with the Giraldos back then, and is lovely,) for that creativity!

Despite my family pedigree of all English and Speech teachers, and my own two college degrees–in Theatre and teaching–I have an embarrassing admission to make: no matter how incredible or outrageously wonderful, (according to Mr. X, of course,) Shakespeare’s writing is, I’m just not into it! So I’m not very familiar with Romeo and Juliet, except for the balcony scene and the ending. So I was a tad lost some of the time, but I just went with the flow of the show.

Similarly, as I admitted to Pat when I met her, as a mainly hip-hop chick, (and despite the fact that she and her hubby held the coveted title of My New Best Friends six months ago,) I don’t know much of their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame music. So almost all the songs in this musical, not just the quintet she and Neil wrote for this show, were new to me. (But I have not stopped singing Love Is a Battlefield since Invincible‘s Opening Night last week-end!)

Of course, since I’m me, I do have one small complaint about the presentation. Perhaps because the setting is listed as “a modern, post-war Verona,” the writer chose to meld Shakespearean vernacular and modern-day speech for the dialogue. To my ear, that makes it sound like high school kids who keep forgetting that they’re performing Shakespeare.

Even though the program says that Invincible is two hours with an intermission, there’s actually no intermission, and it runs a true hour and forty-five minutes.

That length is good, but to improve the pace a bit, Mr. X mused that in some instances, they need to “Howard Hawks it,” and I knew right away what he meant. Hawkes directed the famous film His Girl Friday, and produced the cult classic The Thing From Another World, both of which feature his wonderful style of having the characters talk practically on top of one another, as happens in real life. (Unless I’m the one doing the speaking, of course—then no one else has a chance!) The actors in this show often stop at the end of sentences, so the show-runners may want to consider that different approach for future productions of this show.

But it’s really of no matter right now; fans of Pat Benatar’s music will flock to the Wallis to see Invincible, as well they should! But Angelenos need to hightail it there—the show is here for just two more weeks!

Invincible running through December 18, 2022
The Wallis
9390 North Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills
310-746-4000
www.thewallis.org