This heart of rock and roll isn't beating

 

I have not seen a jukebox musical as torturously bad as The Heart of Rock and Roll since Escape to Margaritaville in 2018.  Even Huey Lewis and the News’s songs fail to give a spark of redemption in this two-and-a-half-hour time waster at the James Earl Theatre.

The success or failure of these types of shows is largely with the book writer, in this case, Jonathan A. Abrams, with a story – using that word loosely – by Tyler Mitchell and Abrams.  

Biographical jukeboxes work with a skilled writer because they tell a story.  In shows like Heart the story is contrived to fit around the songs.  Set in 1987, Bobby (Corey Cott) toils away on the assembly line at Stone Box Co. in Milwaukee, producing cardboard boxes while singing with his band and dreaming of a music career.  His love interest will be the boss’s daughter, Cassandra (McKenzie Kurtz), who manages to fill two stereotypes, ditzy blond and Type-A perfectionist.  He’s uninteresting; she’s annoying.

The only somewhat interesting character is Roz (Tamika Lawrence), the smart-aleck HR director.  She’s the one entrusted with probably the best-known song, “The Power of Love,” which I had been singing in my head all day in anticipation of hearing it performed live.  It’s the beloved song from the movie “Back to the Future.”  As I expected, it was the finale, only without the sizzle of Lewis’s recording or the power of a good send-off.  It sounded anemic compared to Lewis’s version.  The entire cast came out to surround Roz, smothering the effect of that good song.

Heart, which is directed by Gordon Greenberg, lacks another element of a good musical.  Lorin Latarro’s choreography relies heavily on the ensemble jumping up and down in number after number, with some somersaults and ballet moves interwoven.  Latarro is also the choreographer for the revival of Tommy, also recently opened on Broadway.  I loved her work on that show.

My guest left at intermission, something she says she never does, but there was nothing about The Heart of Rock and Roll that made her want to stay.