Octet, by Dave Malloy, opened at Crow’s Theatre on Wednesday evening.  I guess it’s Crow’s big musical this year; a kind of follow up to Pierre, Natasha and the Great Comet, but it’s actually a very different kind of show.  One major difference is musical.  All the singing is a capella which puts extra demands on the singers (and isn’t unpleasantly loud).  The whole cast; eight of course, are really rather good singers and pull off the solo and ensemble numbers extremely well.  They can also act and they are backed up by a really effective lighting plot Imogen Wilson) and video (Nathan Bruce) that pretty much replace the set, which is pretty basic.

Continue reading →