Meet Rob (Sheldon Morley), a 30 something year old with an obsession for vinyl records and defining his entire life by Top 5 lists. He can tell you the semantics on why the word "yet" is misleading, but he cannot figure out why Laura (Tara Pitt) is now leaving him for sleazeball savant Ian (Jeffery R. Rockey). Instead he asks advice from his equally nebbish coworkers Barry (Topher Mauerhan) and Dick (Max Orbita) at Championship Vinyl, which has been deemed the last real record store on earth. Set to an eclectic group of songs written by Amanda Green and music by Tom Kitt, the cast of 14 manage to fill the small room at Hunger Artists with catchy numbers like "Nine Percent Chance," which manages to capture the subplot of sex with plenty of pop culture humor, including a reference to the popular game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
While the set may be small, it manages to fit the atmosphere of a failing business with Disney record stealing punks (Rocky Balboa) and lame people that are into Sex Pistols original 45 rpms (Steeve Jacobs). The compact space brings a personal feel where even a whisper from the background feel authentic. This is community theater, thus is succeeds at feeling like a community, even when Rob is giving asides to the audience to flesh out the plot.
By the end, the production manages to succeed in analyzing not only the psychology of music obsession, but explores how music affects our perception of our friends, strangers, and why a John Tesh album should never be a gift. It explores how accepting people with different tastes and beliefs isn't always a bad thing, and in a way, helps us grow as people.
It's a fun, enjoyable evening with a cast that enjoys every second and brings small idiosyncrasies to life, making the end an endearing send off to the audience. If you had any doubt that Rob had passion for music, he'll win you over with an impressive vocal range on fun tracks like "Desert Island Top 5 Breakups" and "I Slept with Someone (Who Slept with Lyle Lovett)," capturing joy and fear almost consecutively.
Majority of the cast gets their moment to shine, and results in something that should be seen to be believed. For fans of the Nick Hornby book or the John Cussack film adaptation, you're in good hands here. The cast knows their material and makes it all their own. If you enjoy shows with well thought out pop culture references, great music, and just plain fun, check out the Hunger Artists production of High Fidelity.
Notes:
Directed by Anthony Galleran
Book by David Lindsay-Abaire
Show runs until August 28. Tickets and Info are here
Cast:
Sheldon Morley - Rob
Tara Pitt - Laura
Barry/Bruce - Topher Mauerhan
Dick - Max Orbita
Liz/Jackie - Andrea Martyn
Ian/Middle-Aged Guy - Jeffery R. Rockey
Marie/Charlie - Sandy Moore
TMPMITW/Neil - Steeve Jacobs
Anna/Allison - Lindsay Lee Lusk
Sarah/Back Up Singer - Katt McLaren
Penny - Jennifer Pearce
Hipster - Duncan Hutchinson
Mohawk Guy/Sound Guy - Rocky Balboa
Hipster Understudy - Brian Chapman
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