13 is sort of a teenage American Idol contest. Or is that redundant? Lots of great voices and immature performers. If I were thirteen I’d go, and you could do worse than taking your child to see it. It’s not bad. It’s just immature.
Pre-Bar Mitzvah boy sings about the angst of being thirteen and makes you wince with remembering. He hands out the invitations, and ten minutes later his Mom calls him on his cell phone and announces they are moving to Nowhere Central America - the plains states, that is. Our hero is now faced with carving out a new life, and a new guest list. Soon he is dutifully plodding though the standard “stranger in town” scenario. Befriended, belittled, betrayed, he responds with the appropriate amounts of gratitude, manipulation, revelation, and celebration. It’s all there in childlike form.
The creators also give a nod to vaudeville and standup comedy. The best material is given to the supporting characters, who strut and swagger as though they were in a production of Guys and Dolls. And, as in that musical, the earnest love story pales in comparison. The lovelorn compensate with songs that are belted out of the park, more for show than content. I love, therefore I belt.
What this musical is very successful at is reminding us that as adults we have not moved far from the age of thirteen. Life is still about who is cool and who is not at the core. Who are your friends and where are you in the pecking order of life? Is your stock up or down?
Everyone is doing the very best they can in this show, but they are limited by the very theme they chose to celebrate. There are no adults here against whom these kids can push. The stakes are high for them, but not so much for us. Remember To Kill a Mockingbird? A child’s story with adult consequences.
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