Ben Boquist has written the book, music & lyrics for the new musical Songs of the Fall, premiering at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. It’s another rehash of the Adam & Eve story and a very lackluster one at that. The God character is split in three but they are not the usual trinity. There is God the Gray (John Eddings), God the Prime (Whittney Rooks) and Creative Thought/Cate (Kira Satori Rose who really needs to learn to project, her lines were nearly inaudible in the small space at Actors Company). When the trio is not busy creating everything or admiring their Garden, they are your typical homeless street people. Lucifer/Snake (Jackee Bianchi) doesn’t have a strong enough voice for the power ballads written for her character. After the Fall from Eden, Adam (Boquist) has a criminal record and a tough time finding a job while Eve struggles in her career as a Julliard trained dancer. Eve’s decision to eat the fruit of the Forbidden Tree is not very credible. Eve is upset Adam did not like her sketches for improvements to their home and instead he goes off to dig a basement with his friends the wolves. That sure is a different take on the Fall. Blame the wolves, not the snake. The show’s best asset is the balletic dancing of Ariel Labasan and Kurt Benber.
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4713