John & Jen The Musical continues at The Back Room of The Star Inn, Guildford until 17 May.
Guildford Fringe Theatre Company commenced its 2014 season in style with John & Jen The Musical, a rarely performed two-person show by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald and one of musical theatre’s many hidden gems. Originally playing Off-Broadway in 1995, John & Jen spans four decades from the 1950s to the 1980s in the course of 90 minutes, encompassing a vast range of emotional situations, from children expectantly waiting for Santa to arrive, to the death of a close relative, to strained relationships between siblings and between mother and son.
Set in North America, the show’s eponymous characters are a sister and her little brother, who support one another through years of living with their abusive father until Jen leaves for college. They grow apart as Jen becomes a peace-loving child of the Flower Power movement while John joins the Navy and is killed in the Vietnam War. Act II focuses on the dynamic between Jen and her son, also called John (and played by the same actor). Now a single mother, Jen finds it difficult to let go of her departed brother and struggles to repair her relationship with his wayward adolescent namesake.
The score matches the complexity of the plot, with music essentially continuous throughout, songs rarely arranged according to conventional verses, and only limited reprises of material. The dearth of straightforward two-part vocal harmony is surprising given the extent to which the singers are called upon to present elaborately intertwined counter-melodies.
Both Martin Neely as John and Jessica Sherman as Jen demonstrate limitless stamina in realising their evolving characters throughout the evening. Each is persuasive in many different guises, from five-year-old child to carefree teenager to independent young adult to troubled parent; the scene parodying the problem-solving talk show format is particularly impressive for the speed with which they switch between personae. The power and emotion of Sherman’s performance at the climactic ‘The Road Ends Here’ is truly moving.
The company’s artistic director, Nick Wyschna, making his directorial debut in this production, evidently takes to the role like a natural. The intimate setting of The Star Inn seems perfect for a show of this nature, though perhaps more use could have been made of the central aisle as a space that Neely’s character(s) could have inhabited as much as Sherman’s did. Musical director Gary Jerry performs unfalteringly at the piano.
Christopher Wiley
The Guildford Fringe Festival runs this year from 1–27 July.
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