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Review: 'Mid-Life!' winningly reflects life's ups and downs
Posted Online: Sept. 09, 2009, 6:01 pm
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By Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com
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Every musical author wants audiences to identify with his or her characters. Tackling a concept as universal as middle age neatly guarantees that identification in the cheeky, good-natured "Mid-Life! The Musical," now playing at Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island. Most of the theater's regular patrons are either at that stage now or can look back at it fondly. The energetic and uniformly strong cast members -- Brad Hauskins, Paul Gregory Nelson, Kathi Osborne, Carrie SaLoutos, Jessica Swersey and Tom Walljasper -- don't play specific characters throughout this plot-free revue. But each of the show's 20 songs encapsulates the trials, tribulations and occasional joys to be found once you start the ride down past 40. For me, "Mid-Life!" hits awfully close to home, since I've turned that corner. But fortunately, I haven't suffered some of the indignities of this gleefully shameless, fearless show. For example, I don't yet have the chronic condition called CRS -- "Can't Remember Squat." The Act II opener, "What Did I Come in Here For?" parodies this problem. And while it's appropriate that two of the three men in the cast are balding, that's luckily not me, either. One of the guys, erstwhile Circa veteran Tom Walljasper, finds himself turning into his father in "Turning Forty" -- wearing plaid, socks with sandals, and driving slow in the left-hand lane. (At 40? Really?) In "Biological Clock," a frenetic Ms. Swersey worries that her uterus will turn into a pumpkin. She wants to get it on, and her beau gets scared off by her animalistic aggression. In a tender love song, Mr. Hauskins winningly pays tribute to "My Lost Love" -- his former hair. It's a very clever, contemplative and gentle ode sung directly to it. "It seems like only yesterday we had our falling out," he laments, looking for his hair in all the places he last saw it. In addition to the loss of sight and hair, "Mid-Life" seems to say that we lose our sense of fashion as well. Save for a funky Mr. Walljasper, the men in "Weekend Warriors" don questionable clothing as they talk trash and gear up for some basketball. The two trips to the doctor (one in each act) are hilarious, revealing some of the embarrassing moments we endure to keep cancer at bay. The first is a cute "singing mammogram," with Ms.SaLoutos as the victim amid a staff in brightly colored medical scrubs. While they simulate the breast exam, the musical thankfully doesn't try to recreate the prostate exam. It's enough to have Mr. Hauskins and Mr. Walljasper bemoan it in a waiting room ("You're talking about sports, then 'Boom,' he's in your shorts.") See how they find a rhyme for "rectum." Mr. Nelson is the most flamboyantly theatrical of the men and appears to have great fun in his many numbers -- from one listing ridiculous side effects of medications, to a mad-scientist type extolling the wonders of a Botox-like drug, to a slacker who lives with his parents instead of heading to college. The three women show tremendous verve and nerve in "He Got What He Deserves." While each is divorced, they revel in their revenge with a sassy and soulful song. Perhaps the show's only serious number, the poignant "The Long Goodbye," laments the changes in elderly parents because of Alzheimer's. They see them slip a little more each day, and again the song shows how the years fly by. This also is one of too few songs in 'Mid-Life' that contain hints of a memorable melody. Most of the effort appears to have gone into the musical's witty lyrics in this frank, no-holds-barred approach. It's revealing, honest, with virtually nothing off the table for dissection. It ends on an upbeat note, "I'm Not Ready," arguing that middle age is not a time to give up, slow down or let life pass you by. The hopeful, inspiring number reflects the importance of savoring life. Let's hope that, unlike the "Nunsense" and "Church Basement Ladies" franchises, there isn't a "Mid-Life" sequel. I'm afraid to contemplate "Death Panels: The Musical." -- If you go -- What: "Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical." -- When: 1:30 and 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays, 7:45 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 5:45 p.m. Sundays, preceded by a buffet. Through Nov. 7. -- Where: Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island. -- Tickets: $39 for matinees; $42 Wednesday evenings; $44.50 Friday through Sunday. Reduced prices for students and groups of 12 or more. Call (309) 786-7733, ext. 2 (for groups, (309) 786-2667, ext. 305 or 306), or visit www.circa21.com. 
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