David West Read (writer) and Luke Sheppard (director) are the team behind the multi-award-winning 2019 musical & Juliet (a jukebox musical riff on Shakespeare’s tragedy of young love). For In Dreams, their latest collaboration, they have created a new story about love and death, shaped by the songs of Roy Orbison (including numbers he wrote with the band the Traveling Wilburys), and performed to terrific live offstage accompaniment under musical supervision from Catherine Jayes and direction from Patrick Hurley.
The crafting is neatly worked, in ways funny, touching and schmaltzy. Songs are delivered as if dialogue, moving the action forward; as monologues, revealing characters’ inner thoughts; are sung to one another by characters, as a way of exploring their relationships; or are delivered in performance by the actor-musicians.
The action takes place in a small-town, family-run Mexican restaurant in the south-west US. Here, Oscar (Manuel Pacific) and Nicole (Gabriela García; also credited as the production’s cultural coordinator), along with Grandmother Ana Sofia (Alma Cuervo) offer life-affirming, Day of the Dead-themed memorial services to the bereaved, with optional side order of prayers from the cook, Tom (Leon Craig). When country rock singer Kenna (Lena Hall – compelling) comes to them with an unusual request, their answer has to be You Got It.
Cue reunion of Kenna’s long-separated band, Heartbreak Radio: her former lover Ramsey (Oliver Tompsett) and now-married-with-five-children couple Jane (Sian Reese-Williams) and Don (Noël Sullivan). Kenna’s pretext for a party leads to an exposition of Communication Breakdown, exploration of A Love So Beautiful, and a certain amount of Crying.
In early scenes the setup can feel forced, as numerous storylines are set spinning (with occasional wobbles into hokum). Sheppard’s directorial pacing and Fabian Aloise’s choreography keep things moving, though, and lovely, pitch-perfect performances from all the company draw us into this affecting (if sometimes cheesy), celebration of life and the loving connections that make it worth living.
