Original Off-Broadway Cast: The Road To Qatar, CD

Truman Capote invented thenon-fiction novel with In Cold Blood. Stephen Cole and David Krane could be said to have invented the non-fiction fictional musical in The Road to Qatar, whose original cast album has just been released. For while Stephen and David were actually commissioned to write a new musical for the Emir of Qatar, Michael and Jeffrey are the ones doing it in this 2011 musical.

Coles such a musical theater authority that its worth joining Facebook to see his many perceptive comments about Forgotten Musicals. Here he gets in good puns about Babes in Oil-land and Dubai Bye Birdie. But theres conflict in the show, because Michael and Jeffrey are, after all, New York Jews in a land that sees red instead of rolling out the red carpet for members of the tribe. Still, in this other desert city œif you play the palace, you really do andif they say you're hot, you can bet its true. 

Matters did get hot for the writers, because they had to glean what the Arabs liked, and how they liked it, and had to give it to them just that way. Each struggles withall the ˜Must Bes buzzing around my head and the realization that they dont want it great; they just want it soon. However, mentiona la mode, and the line gets cut, because a la is, after all, a homonym forAllah. Its a rare composer who can provide sharp and hummable melodies to a rash of comedy songs, but Krane does just that, down to musicalising an Arabian movie star who plays Gypsy on his iPod. Finally the CD has a lovely song that was cut “ in which Michael and Jeffrey meet and find that they have so much in common, its a phenomenon. Any musical theater enthusiast will relate to this one.

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