Just Shows To Go You: POWERHOUSE

Biography on stage tends to be overly literal and dully linear. Therefore it’s a special rare joy to find that this one – by Jon Levin (direction and concept) and Josh Luxenberg (playwright and producer) – is inventive and wholly theatrical. A word-of-mouth hit at the Fringe Festival and seen this weekend as part of the Encore series, the show tells the story of obsessive visionary Raymond Scott, whose music underscored many Warner Brothers cartoons. Although there is narrative clarity, the show has been ably crafted more to theatricalize the themes of Scott’s life than to relate its events; at times we feel we’re inside Scott’s head, turning stimuli up or down. The production is anchored by a pitch-perfect performance by Erik Lochtefeld, who gives Scott the lit-up quality we recognize in people chasing a private creative dream at the expense of a rich emotional life. Both Levin and Luxenberg should be praised and put assuredly on your list of up and comers.