Bloomington Theater: Interactive musical comedy 'Just Between the All of Us' coming to BPP
I was mad at Gus, my now husband. It was 1999. Who remembers what he had done, or more likely, said? Maybe something like, "Hey, by the way, your sunroof is open, and it's pouring outside." (Thanks, but why didn't you just close it?) Or maybe it was when he said, "I do TOO listen to half of what you say!"
Anyway, Gus' sister, Chrys, advised me: "Don't be mad at him. He's a pain in the ass, but he's got a heart gold." (He is; he does.)
On eight nights this month, Bloomington Playwrights Project is offering a live interactive musical comedy where the audience offers love-life advice to the protagonist. We'll separate her good boyfriends from her bad, but will we separate correctly? Will we, her new friends and family, lead her to a golden match — like my Gus — or a soul-eating dead end?
The shows will end differently, depending on who is attending, and in what mood. It could happen in a number of ways: audience reactions; interactions; ballots; management doing something clever at intermission.
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This is not just one of producing artistic director Chad Rabinovitz' brainy eccentricities. Brad Schiesser, BPP's managing director, raved about the competent writing and wild humor of "Just Between the All of Us." Also, it's a Reva Shiner Comedy Award winner.
The plot revolves around a successful emergency room physician whose sole bummer in life is her lack of romance.
"Must I settle?" she repeatedly asks herself.
Four suitors join the plot, and our Dr. Owens likes them all. (Online dating just keeps improving.) She may not need advice on how to triage a burn victim, but she could use some validation on whom to date.
Who better than the audience? Dr. Owens invites us theater-goers to become her advice-givers: for example, taking the roles of her mother, therapist, barista.
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Schiesser isn't sure any other company has used a select-your-own-adventure approach like this to a musical.
"We agreed to do this show two years ago," he said. Then, BPP planned to do it live last May. Then, pandemic.
(When I talked with Rabinovitz about the show earlier this year, I could hear it in his voice: this is one of his pets.)
"This one has producer money behind it," Schiesser said. "It has a commercial producer, and we hope it's going to Off-Broadway."
If you go
WHAT: "Just Between the All of Us" with book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and Sarah Ziegler Blair, and music by David Christensen. Directed by Scott Weinstein.
WHEN: Dec. 8-11 and 15-18, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ted Jones Playhouse, 107 W. Ninth St., 812-334-1188.
TICKETS: https://bit.ly/3d3HFOm.
MORE: The BPP box office will open at 6:30 p.m. for each show; house opens at 7 p.m. Refunds or exchanges can be made up to 24 hours before showtime, including for tickets purchased with subscriptions. There is no physical ticket; BPP will have your name at the door.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Musical comedy 'Just Between the All of Us' coming to Bloomington