Giulia, Poison Queen of Palermo at PAC
I don’t write many show reviews here but I saw Giulia at Perelman Performing Arts Center recently and it’s really sticking with me, and wanted to see what others think.
First off, this is an AMAZING concept for a new musical and I’m thrilled Jennifer Nettles is focusing on this story. I almost can’t believe no one’s made a musical about this before—and yet, I suppose I can, because it’s asking us to root for women who are killing their husbands, and primarily root for the woman who helps them.
There is so much rich material in the contradiction of rooting for someone like this—there’s more than a tinge of shows like Sweeney Todd and Teeth in it. And while this show has some occasional sparks & perhaps intellectually gets us on its side, it only occasionally ignites.
Jennifer Nettles has written a mostly strong, catchy score, that will likely stay in your head a bit as you leave the theater, but also feel a little too close to Hamilton at times to not draw comparisons. In way, that’s not all bad—part of what these shows share is that they genuinely sound like they are written by contemporary musicians who feel at home in the language of pop music rather than musical theater writers trying to sound like they can write pop.
The best moments in the score tend to involve the women. For me the highlight is “Next Time” which has a heart tugging, sweeping melody and serves as the “I Want” song but perhaps in some ways would make a better 11 o’clock number. “Happily Ever After” “The River” “Split Second Life Changing Moment” and “Always Get What I Want” also stood out to me.
The biggest issue with the score for me is the everything felt a bit grandiose, so the stakes of the smaller moments and bigger moments tend to bleed together a bit and things start to sound the same. A few moments of contrast would make it all ebb and flow better. Almost every song had a heeart wrenching belt at some point.
The show is almost entirely sung through, which currently leaves the book feeling a bit undercooked. We get the plot points, but sometimes the conflicts of scenes don’t quite build and resolve well enough, and it can feel a bit like we’re being told what’s happening rather than experiencing the characters go through it.
I think the show is a little bit trapped in its own physical staging and might need a different director to match the size of the music. It just felt physically very stiff and trapped in the weird downstage area of the stage the playing space is mostly limited to. Lots of clunky moments of physical transition and the moments of violence do not read as threatening enough right now to win over the doubters to Giulia’s side, nor is her ending climatic enough to be satisyfing.
I imagine a stronger (or more well suited director) could potentially help them nail down the tone of this: at times it is sentimental and earnest, and that actually works well because it does feel like Nettles’ natural voice. At other times it seems like it’s trying a little too hard to be dark & though the material is dark, that tone doesn’t seem to fit her ethos as naturally. At other moments it wants to be camp, and dare I say the show does need a little bit of that here and there—but they never commit to it so the tone is always a bit muddy.
I think they do stick the landing with the ending. I don’t want to spoil it (and I think most people will see it coming when it’s happening) but I found the final plot point to be very cathartic and moving.
All in all, I think Nettles has the bones of something that can be REALLY amazing here, but it also needs a LOT of work. She needs some help: perhaps a co-book writer, perhaps a director with a stronger perspective, perhaps both. I hope she can find the right person & be humble enough to take the assistance. It’s not poor reflection on her to say so either—I’m in great admiration of her ambition on this project & the potential is great.
I hope those who may be involved who are aiming this towards Broadway give it the time and care it needs to turn it into what it could be, because I just can’t stop thinking about this one. I think with the right work & time, it could be a really great piece.