...Lipton alone has the rare ability to come off curmudgeonly and honest, hilarious and sad, like a Charades-era Walter Matthau. He's dark and thoughtful and whimsical to boot.
The piece, titled No Place To Go, is a thinly-veiled musical satire of America's current political and social situation. Ethan (the character?) is dismayed to learn that his job is being outsourced. He's saddened, not solely because his job is relocating, but because the
company to which he's given ten years seems to undervalue him to such a ridiculous degree. He's living in a world where corporations can be considered people while simultaneously treating their employees less like people than ever before.
The music, which is almost all written for this performance piece (a few standards sneak in) and completely amazing, and the monologues that follow, continue the arc of Ethan's company disbanding and his job being shipped off without him. The 'and His Orchestra' (Eben Levy, Ian Riggs, and Vito Dieterle), are game and as talented as all get-out for the entire production...the music is still amazing and delightfully old-timey (or classically awesome, whatever sounds best).
...Lipton takes a concept that most people care about (crumbling economy, terrible business practices) and makes it personal (though never solipsistic) to him and simultaneously more important than ever. Seriously, the chops on this group. It's worth the ticket just to get a tan from basking in the brilliance...
