A new musical hits these shores and benefits from an impossibly talented cast that quickly get to grips with a tale of justice and revenge.
It’s rare that a musical is based on a series of comic books. However, Death Note breaks largely new ground and comes from the Japanese manga (‘cartoon’) created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. A concept album was released in 2014 and has been staged regularly in Japan and South Korea.
The story begins with Light (Joaquin Pedro Valdes), a student in Tokyo who rages against the criminal justice system. He cannot understand how the innocent suffer and criminals go unpunished. Meanwhile the Shinigami (‘gods of death’) Ryuk and Rem are watching over the human race and mock their attempts to lead a civilised existence. Just for fun Ryuk drops a notebook called the Death Note into an unsuspecting world.
Light finds the mysterious document and decides to write the name of a criminal inside. The said criminal was holding a group of children hostage but suddenly dies. Light is shocked, but soon realises he can use the notebook to exact his own brand of justice. A murder spree begins and the police are baffled. The general public rejoice at Light’s actions and dub him ‘Kira’. In desperation the police engage the services of ace detective ‘L’ (Dean John-Wilson). Meanwhile pop star Misa (Frances Mayli McCann) dedicates her latest performance to Kira. Her personal experience draws her closer to Kira as the tension slowly builds.
Death Note is unusual subject matter for a musical and makes a refreshing change from the usual ‘boy meets girl’ scenario. This enables the piece to steer clear of obvious clichés. The production is blessed with an amazing cast that radiates with talent. The three leading actors deliver their solo spots beautifully and are (death) note perfect. There are some standout songs that linger in the mind including ‘Where is the justice’ ‘Hurricane’ and ‘I’m ready’. Unsurprisingly it’s gone down well in South East Asia with its reference to ‘k-pop’ culture. However, Frank Wildhorn’s sweeping score is lost without the support of a full scale orchestra. It seems that a smaller band was secreted backstage, although fine it lacks the finesse of strings and horns. They also appeared to be using the set from a previous production which lessens the impact still further. Nevertheless, it has great potential and gets an extra star for the cast alone.
Lyrics: Jack Murphy
Music: Frank Wildhorn
Book: Ivan Menchell
Director/Choreographer: Nick Winston
Musical Director: Chris Ma
This production transfers to the Lyric Theatre for 6 performances between 7-10 September 2023.
Review by: Brian Penn
Playhouse Pickings 