On & Off Broadway

‘In Transit’

Review by Elyse Trevers

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Theater’s a tough business so “you gotta have a gimmick” to distinguish your show. Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of movies like Pitch Perfect, and TV shows like Glee, In Transit relies entirely on the human voice to create the accompaniment. (It saves on the cost of a union orchestra as well.) The new Broadway musical by James Allen Ford and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (songwriter-co-creator of Frozen.) is done a cappella.

In Transit tells intersecting stories of five young people living in New York: a gay couple, an aspiring actress, a former Wall Street broker and a girl who has recently broken up with her boyfriend. The most enjoyable character is The Boxman, a terrific beat boxer who produces vocal percussion and offers wise observations. He serves as a narrator-confessor and even advisor for the others. Several of the songs are solos, highlighting the problems of our young protagonists. However, the most enjoyable pieces are the ensemble numbers, including one in which the MTA worker wears a gown made entirely of Metro cards.

The show works well for those people who know New York by including references and allusions to the city and the transportation system. The unintelligible subway announcements, the Metro card machines that swallow up money, and a huge rat with pizza in its mouth running across the tracks will definitely play well with New Yorkers who take the subway.

A cappella is a unique genre of music, popular on many college campuses, but it attracts a unique audience. The performers are especially skilled, but unless you’ve performed that way, you probably won’t appreciate it. In Transit would be better served in a small Off-Broadway house catering to the niche audience. The performers are all young and their stories tell of courtship and work. In Transit is fun and novel but somewhat limited in appeal.