It's a great idea - a rock opera adaptation of John Hughes' classic Gen-X teen angst film "The Breakfast Club." Unfortunately, Midwest Rock Opera Company's production, "The Saturday Club," fell flat on it's acne-prone face. As much of a novelty the characters' lunches for sale in the lobby was, it was unable to compensate for the complete lack of talent and creativity throughout the show.
The space at Bucketworks, on the other hand, was great. They expanded their stage area considerably, which now accommodates a full rock band on the side. The scenic designer chose a simple look, however, and just propped a grey door askance at the back of the stage, flanked with handwritten Bowie quotes on either side. This minimalism somehow seemed fitting for the amount of acting ability throughout the cast.
Caroline Millwe, whose resemblance to Pat Benatar with a mullet was uncanny, doubled as a mediocre singer and a female version of Carl the janitor. Her performance had as much flavor as the Lite beers she and principal Dick Burns were sharing in his office. The actor's portrayal of the burned-out administrator was passable, but like most aspects of the production, lacked energy all around. Burns' signature threatening hand gesture, for example, was just plain weak - more of an afterthought than anything.
Furthermore, the costume designer really dropped the ball. For someone accused of being a Barry Manilow wannabe, Burns didn't much look the part, wearing a simple black shirt, pants, jacket and regular hairstyle. Brian's (referred to as "Brain" in the program) clothes also didn't resemble those of a whimpy egghead geek. Claire, the "tease's" outfit bordered on slutty, comprised of a super short skirt, low cut shirt and motorcycle boots. Bender's orange camouflage West Germany army shirt looked almost tropical, and the bright red jacket wrapped around his hips took away any hint of being the school "badass." Allison's outfit was more on the valley girl/funky hippie side than something a "basket case" would wear.
Aside from some nice interlude music - an instrumental version of the film's anthem, "(Don't You) Forget About Me" and a few cover tunes, the accompanying band was fairly rife with issues. The keyboardist/vocalist -- outfitted in curly mullet and tails - was either missing his cues/lines or maybe it was the other vocalist or maybe both of them were screwing up or maybe it was the mike shorting out. Regardless, it negatively impacted their renditions of "I Am the Walrus" and "Danger Zone." The cheesy keyboards playing through Andrew's monologue effectively removed any poignancy it may have previously held. In addition, the full-length songs that peppered the screenplay adaptation were just simply too long, with little to no accompanying stage action. At one point in what seemed to be the endless first act, MiROC founder Melanie Bere and the lighting designer were sitting on the edge of the stage singing "Galileo" - and that's it.
Rather than reciting the litany of "parroting-instead-of-acting" incidents throughout the show, I will simply mention the only glimmer of talent in the cast, which was Nocolo Onorato's performance of Bender. Granted, his stage NY/NJ accent, which seemed inappropriate for a Nicolet High School student, was making my ears bleed. His rendition of Billy Idol's "White Wedding," conversely, was pretty good - to my surprise. Later in the show, his Johnson/Bender family monologue effectively conveyed the conflicted feelings of his character. He also blew decent smoke rings.
And that's about it. The finale, which featured the actors dancing with audience members was, once again, way too long and - personally - I was just happy it was over. Good idea, great space, but MiROC's productions have a long way to go.
"The Saturday Club" runs through November 26. For more information, (414) 264-4058.
