(© Mihaela Bodlovic)
Artist, composer and New York star Todd Almond leans over his piano and stares out into the crowd. His outfit makes him look as if he is about to start some semi-amateur carpentry work. His left elbow rests on the lid, his right hand casually plays chords as Almond looks the audience in the eye and begins his story.
It starts out mundanely enough – a cheeky meeting in a Tribeca apartment lays the foundation for a touching romance. The guy, Guy, tells Almond about a near-death experience when the duo decide to stroll through Manhattan. They part after coffee – Almond enters his apartment sheepishly, Guy rejects the offer of a kiss. The next day, however, he’s back with another coffee – a U-turn – he rings the bell and asks Almond to let him in. Almond happily heads off to pick him up. Until things take an unexpected turn.
What follows is a fantastical, gripping bout of magical realism. As Almond descends through the levels of his building, like a Greek hero forced to wade through wild, uncharted waters, he encounters creepy oddities. There’s a neighbor, a “sexy beast” who satisfies his most carnal desires while reinforcing his self-loathing; a paranoid neighbor who fears for the life of her cat, the same cat who haunts the underworld and is actually 53 percent Almond’s mother. There’s even a real vampire who’s obsessed with old movies.
It sounds abstract, enigmatic, almost complacent, but with singing magic, Almond and his co-performers Erin Hill and Luke McCrosson weave a unique, melancholic tapestry. Like the theme of a great folk tale, a contemporary Fairy Queen The protagonist Almond fends off threats, dangers and temptations, revealing his own personal limitations in the process. The writing style is colossal, awe-inspiring and yet surprisingly fragile – like a melting glacier sliding down a mountain.
Almond’s compositions, aided by Jonathan Mastro’s excellent musical supervision, enhance and expand the nuances and themes ticking beneath the text. Hill’s use of the harp is particularly stirring – more harps on stage, please.
Produced by audiobook giant Audible and Baby reindeer Francesca Moody, Almond’s story already seems to have a great future ahead of it – which is great news because it’s a real testament to the power of musical storytelling. I wish I could go back and experience it all over again.
(Editor’s note: I’m almost there will be performed Off-Broadway this fall at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre.)
