Musical Mondays: Gettin' the Band Back Together
Before the start of Gettin’ the Band Back Together, lead producer and co-writer Ken Davenport came out in front of the curtain and spoke to the audience about the show. It was a little strange, but he did say two things that stuck out and 100% reflect the way I viewed the show. First, he said that this was “actually something original on Broadway” and took a really unnecessary shot at all of the other shows currently running. Second, he noted this musical first developed out of an improv show several years ago with people discussing their old high school bands.
When you take a pot shot at other Broadway shows before the performance even starts, you throw down a gauntlet. You throw down a gauntlet that immediately requires you stepping up to the plate and knocking it out of the park. Putting aside the fact that the last show Mr. Davenport was involved with, Once On This Island, was a revival of a show, Mr. Davenport put his show in a tough position. It did not fight its way out.
The way Mr. Davenport noted the musical being from an improv show made a lot of sense. I love improv comedy, but ideas in improv do not have to be as fully formed as they do in other forms. Half-baked ideas can be incredibly funny, and songs in musical improv can work when they’re a fun concept alone. Unfortunately for this show, I would 100% believe that someone filmed the original improv show and wrote it into a full musical script with edits used only to increase the set and maybe ensure each song rhymed.
A song entirely dedicated to Joe Perry? Sure it would be funny in an improv, but there wasn’t enough to it. It fell flat. Intentionally bad dance off, song about the best day ever being a date at Six Flags that includes post vomit make out, and a character about having sex with your childhood best friend’s mom? Could be funny off the cuff ideas. In this show, the ideas are not nearly fully developed to deserve the laughs the show really feels like it deserves. The show gives off a vibe that people liked their funny ideas and stuck with them without taking a hard critical look at what was working and what just wasn’t.
The jokes throughout the show further feel like Mr. Davenport is telling you how clever he is with the nods to other Broadway shows (including a character dressed exactly as Evan Hansen holding up his signed cast to the show) and jokes that nearly break a rib with an elbow always nudging you after every joke screaming “get it?!” Mix these together with a pretty offensive Indian stereotype embodying the pianist’s father that could be a think piece within itself, a show that gives no females agency throughout the entire show, and weird laughter aimed at people being unemployed, and it left a fairly bad taste in my mouth.
All of it keeps coming back to the original gauntlet thrown down by Mr. Davenport. Without this speech, I wonder if I would have felt a lot more indifference. But he didn’t just let the show exist, he threw out this shot at all the other shows on Broadway despite absolutely reaping the benefits and a Tony from an awesome revival. I 100% agree with the belief that there is something incredible about original works, and people striving to create truly new things should be rewarded. But don’t tell me that. Let the art tell me that. Unfortunately for the show, Gettin’ the Band Back Together didn’t truly get that chance to speak for itself, and even if it had, I’m not sure it had much to say.