Review: Tagged and It's Complicated

PROFILING THE ART OF TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LOVE 
joel fishbane

Dating in the 21rst century has spawned a whole sub-genre of musicals, from I Love You Because… to A Craigslist Cantata, each of which comment on how the new generation deals with the impact of technology on love. To quote Jonathan Larson’s Rent, it’s all about “connection in an isolating age”. Into this mix comes Tagged & It’s Complicated, a new musical that chronicles the efforts of two social misfits, Tim (Matty Burns) and Katherine (Ruth Goodwin) to find true love via the Molten Lava Dating Company.

Almost entirely sung, Tagged… is set entirely in Tim and Katherine’s bedrooms; the two are on stage the entire time but never interact (at least not in reality). Katharine’s a workaholic while Tim’s unemployed and living with his parents. Unfortunately, not much more can be said about the characters. They reveal little about themselves during the show’s one hour time span, which right now is about thirty minutes longer then the current plot needs.

the lesson Tim and Katherine learn is that they both need to open up and reveal more of themselves to the world

There’s a lot of wit and wisdom in Tagged… and the material remains rife for musical commentary. Some songs, like “Creating a Profile” and “Playing the Game", offer clever insights on the many ways the Internet allows us to stretch the truth about ourselves. But the characters themselves rarely evolve past two-dimensions. To be fair, this may be have been the intent of authors Ben Wright and Matty Burns – the lesson Tim and Katherine learn is that they both need to open up and reveal more of themselves to the world. 

Unfortunately, they don’t learn this from each other; in fact, beyond a single awkward online chat (the funniest part of the show, I might add), the two don’t talk at all before they each have their great epiphany. It happens entirely on their own, giving the central relationship far less dramatic weight. It also happens during the eleven o’clock number, leaving us with forty-five minutes of songs whose themes and ideas repeat each other a little too much.

There’s a lot of talent behind the show – the cast is good, the direction is solid and the music keeps you on your toes, running the gamut from bluegrass to rap. The writers fare best when their characters are on their own: Katharine’s monologue "About Me" is probably the sharpest number of the show and gives actress Ruth Goodwin a lot of room to show off her comedic skills. As for actor / writer Matty Burns, he excels best in his own torch song, "Lady Why", in which he voices every young man’s frustration with always being considered the “friend”.

Still, while kudos go to whoever decided to put together a nine-piece orchestra - an ambitious thing even in the professional musical world – someone should have cut one of the guitars and hired a sound designer instead. The on-stage band drowned out the performers for most of the night, despite the fact that both actors were miced. It’s a shame because many of the clever lyrics were lost in the noise – if a remount were to ever occur, a small orchestra and louder mics may go a long way to creating more connection between the actors and the crowd.

Tagged & It’s Complicated by Matty Burns and Ben Wright plays at the Palmerston Theatre, 560 Palmerston Avenue until December 1. For tickets visit http://www.outofreachtheatre.com