I Just Stopped By to See The Man

We're listening to a guitar being played. It's a well made instrument and the guitarist is playing as well as he can, but one of the strings is defective. It just won't stay in tune. So, in the end, it doesn't matter how dextrous and clever and full of ideas the guitarist is, if he doesn't tune that one string nobody will be able to hear the other five.

'I Just Stopped By to See The Man' is that guitar. The bass string, the heart of the story, is the old bluesman. He is solid, a terrific center to the story. Next to him is his daughter, his counterpoint. She's terrific too, and helps explain the story's dilemma. Then comes the surprise visitor to the Delta: The English rocker. He's also very good. He shakes things up. So far, so very good.

But each actor also has to negotiate a separate string for the way the playwright has written his part. The old man's character is believable and interesting, the girl's character is strong and gets better as her secret is revealed...but that last string -- the English rocker -- hooooo boy. What the HELL is he doing here? Is he good? Is he evil? Is he the Devil? Is he the cruel Music Machine? Is he bringing salvation? Is he seeking salvation? Is he salvation itself?

Because if he is, can it be that a famed English rocker who is supposed to be based on Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page or even the ghost of Robert Johnson could POSSIBLY be this awful a guitar player?

Once Karl, the rocker, starts playing Campfire Girl guitar, which is supposed to be down-home blues, the story goes out of tune and stays that way. The whole elaborate setup stops making sense. Like old Jesse says: you can put lots of pretty paper around skunk meat but nobody is gonna want to buy it.

It's a pity, because the old man Jesse, played by Charles Branklyn, is positively hypnotic. He could turn his back to the audience and speak Hamlet in Chinese and we'd be spellbound. He is that good.

They loved the show in England. Yeah, well.

The Great Plotnik asks: in a production about music, in a city where every other waiter is a guitar player, could they not have found a single musician to consult?

Maybe musicians should maybe not review musical theater. Keep that in mind, as The Great Plotnik Theater Awards Division awards 'I Just Stopped By to See The Man' Two and a Half Stars (one for the old man, one for his daughter and a half for the set) and then SNATCHES AWAY the half star just because it's the next morning and he's still pissed off about it.