Imagine a world where heterosexuals are shunned as "freaks" and being gay is the norm, mixed-sex couples are not allowed to go to prom together, and the school board has banned the book "Heather Has One Mommy and One Daddy."
This is the world of Speakeasy Stage Company's "Zanna, Don't!"
The concept is simple and thought provoking: "I'm very conservative," one boy says during the show. "My dads raised me to believe that a man should love a man and a woman should love a woman." Watching gay characters live in a very "Leave it to Beaver" world makes the coming out of a heterosexual couple hit close to home for a predominately straight audience.
Author, lyricist and composer Tim Acito seems to believe, however, that the only way to represent normalcy in a distinctly unusual society is to make the show as campy and silly as possible. As a result, the whole production is so ridiculous that the audience is forced to take it seriously. While that may be contradictory rationalization, the final product is a show that does occasionally satisfy the audience - but alienates it more often than not.
"Zanna, Don't!" is predominately about relationships. Matchmaker Zanna prances through his senior year of high school, waving his magical wand to pair up lovers with the aid of his sequined bird friend, Cindy. In the first scene, Zanna's friend Roberta and her brand new cheerleader girlfriend enter, as happy as can be, thanking Zanna for setting them up. Two short scenes later, when Roberta learns that her girlfriend has already cheated on her, a heart-felt song of frustration and anger ensues.
This would all be well and good if the audience had any emotional attachment to the character of Roberta, but as the play is barely 10 minutes old, we're still getting acquainted and trying to figure out in which decade the play is set as Roberta talks on a cell phone while retro flower lights dance in the background. Needless to say, the audience doesn't have much brainpower left to focus on what it is the character is saying.
Lack of emotional attachment constitutes the biggest problem with "Zanna, Don't!" A show about relationships - gay or straight, smooth or rocky - can only hold an audience's interest if the characters in the relationship are real, endearing or interesting in some way. In his determination to create a glittery, fanciful world, however, Acito seems to have forgotten to make characters that aren't simply two-dimensional.
Try as it might, "Zanna's" talented cast can't quite bring these characters to life. The first time the cartoon-esque characters seem to feel emotions like real human beings is during the aftermath of the straight couple's coming-out, during the song, "Do You Know What It's Like?" In this song, the two straight characters and their devastated former significant others each spend a verse examining their situation and wishing everything will turn out okay. It is a truly successful bid at an emotionally effective moment. Unfortunately, it doesn't occur until the final half -hour of the show.
Though "Zanna, Don't!" may not be brilliant, it has its clever moments. Once one becomes used to the crazy retro world of "Zanna," one can appreciate silly bits, like a group of boys talking about making brownies and watching "Buffy" on a Friday night, or the school musical about straights in the military featuring the song "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Unfortunately, for every chuckle-worthy moment there are a handful of less successful bits, like Zanna's incessant application of lip gloss.
To sum up, the story is lacking, the characters aren't believable, and even the music is not much to write home about.
However, not all is lost.
The cast is small and works well as an ensemble, which is always entertaining to watch. Choreographer David Connolly provides simple, silly dances that are often very entertaining - but mostly because the actors appear to be having fun dancing at the all-female mechanical bull-riding club.
One point in "Zanna's" favor is that the cast's energy level never fades. From the first chord where Jordan Fife Hunt pops out from beneath the bedcovers as the ever-perky Zanna to the full-company finale and bows, every character on stage is alive and alert.
The actors don't seem to question the validity of the characters they play. Anich D'Jae pours her heart out into Roberta's mournful number at the beginning of the show - even if the audience is not prepared to appreciate it.
"Zanna, Don't!" is a show engendered of good intentions and good humor, but frankly, it's just half-baked. Rest assured that the cast will try its hardest to entertain, but don't blame the actors if they are not wholly successful.
