One thing is quite clear about the musical “Head Over Heels” — it knows what it is, and gleefully accepts what it’s not.
A rollicking production of the quirky show at City Lights Theater Company makes certain the superfluous, farcical story is joyful, with slick and progressive statements dotted throughout James Magruder’s adaptation of Jeff Whitty’s original conception.
The plot is based on the 16th-century prose romance “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia” by Sir Philip Sidney, paired wittily with the early-1980s music of The Go-Go’s. The kick-butt all-female punk-inspired rock band and their sugary, singable hooks get the well-deserved star treatment in this production, a celestial collection of voices blended with absolute pleasure. Those tunes are the stars of the show, treated with boisterous brilliance. Yet the production itself struggles with a heap of clunk, undercut by its inconsistency at critically transitioning from moment to moment in Jeffrey Bracco’s direction, toggling between effective and uneven.
The story is a bit all over the place, but in a wildly fun way. The campiness of the plot sees the royal family of Arcadia on a journey to keep their divine powers as the citizens are governed by a mysterious “Beat.” The other big concern is King Basilius (Dylan Bagwell) and his wife Gynecia (Caitlin Lawrence Papp) are facing four potential prophecies that will spell the destruction of their reign.
Their lovely daughter Princess Philoclea (Lauren Berling) was pursued by lowly shepherd Musidorous (Ryan Liu), causing the peasant’s ouster from the kingdom. Yet an idea to return in disguise as a powerful Amazonian warrior causes lots of mayhem.
Other characters carry on meaty moments in the plot points. A delightful character is Mopsa (Gwynnevere Cristobal), daughter to the viceroy of the king, who’s there to move things along in this wildly meta narrative. The King’s other daughter, the eldest Pamela (Catherine Traceski) brings forth hearty laughs, certainly feeling herself and her beauty. And then there’s the new oracle Pythio (Chloë Angst), a non-binary person who warns of the dangers of running a kingdom with too heavy a hand, lest it threaten their beloved “Beat.”
By far, the hits from the punk-turned-pop band are taken care of marvelously through Tina Paulson’s music direction, yet the balance between the pre-recorded music and the performers’ voices struggled to find an equilibrium in the first act before settling in more fluidly in Act 2. And to be sure, every major highlight of the show is built from the collection of singers.
Angst’s Pythio is grounded while also keeping a playful oracle bounding throughout the stage with rabidly funny energy. The trio of Cristobal, Berling and Traceski nail the gobsmacking arrangement on “Automatic Rainy Day.” Traceski is a bona fide scene stealer, her brassy belt and grasp of her character’s needs dominating the space. Both she and Cristobal eat heartily on “Automatic Rainy Day,” with an impressive scat as a parting gift. And in a delightfully bawdy showcasing of shadow love, enhanced by the playful entreaties of Papp and Bagwell, the result is howl-worthy.
A revelatory performance comes from fresh-faced Liu, whose puppy dog eyes inform his own abilities to camouflage inside the wacky world of the plot. His own timbre of a voice mixes well with his multiple harmonic partners and the various goofy turns he is tasked with implementing.
The struggles of the show are mainly in the technical realm, a few set pieces creating angst amongst the audience on opening night, considering the traveling staircases and other pieces on wheels too often had minds of their own. Those dynamics certainly contributed to the way the musical flowed through space, yet what greatly enhanced the story was the dynamic costumes by Kristin Lundin, whose abundance ensured a constant feast for the eyes.
Where the show finds its spine is in how irreverent and harmless it can be, all while using humor to make much larger points about acceptance while fighting erasure of marginalized communities. Lines slyly and playfully suggest that this kind of musical theater isn’t exactly highbrow entertainment while making universal points. That’s what makes the piece entertaining and critical, its power to support and affirm identities.
At a time in which LGBTQ+ people and their rights are at risk by those in power, art that amplifies positivity, affirmation and allyship is welcome. In other words, fighting back while dancing to The Go-Go’s is always a great idea.
David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23); @davidjchavez.bsky.social.
‘HEAD OVER HEELS’
Original concept and book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, featuring the music of The Go-Go’s, presented by City Lights Theater Company
Through: Aug. 24
Where: City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St., San Jose
Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes with an intermission
Tickets: $40 – $68; cltc.org