Stephen Merritt's 'Coraline': Good Weird

Last night I saw a preview of Coraline, Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan's musical adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel about a young girl who discovers a seemingly ideal alternate world which soon proves to be far more sinister than it appears. You know, like most alternate worlds. Anyway, should you go?

It depends. Are you a fan of Merritt or the Magnetic Fields? Did you like the Gaiman novel? Are you a theater geek? Do you have a tolerance for the absurd? If the answer to any of these is yes, then by all means.

I am in no way qualified for the position of theater critic, so here are some very basic notes:

The cast works its ass off, particularly Jayne Houdyshell, the 55-year-old actress who portrays 9-year-old Coraline and is onstage for the entire show. Greenspan, who wrote the book, is hysterical as Coraline's "Other Mother"—his final scene is excruciatingly funny. But, everyone—the other five all play multiple roles—is excellent.

Of necessity, the staging is pretty inventive. The plot, being fantasy, is much easier to convey as prose or on the screen (Coraline was also adapted as one of those 3D stop-motion animation flicks, and, while somewhat different, was quite good): This production does amazing work with the cramped quarters of the Lucille Lortel Theatre, using a collection of tiny props, various music and lighting cues, and the actors themselves—Houdyshell doubles as a sort of stage manager, issuing a constant stream of alerts like, "I'm outside now"—for orientation. Actors balance precariously on pianos and other props, adding weight to the sense of multiple locations.

I've seen the music described as dissonant and atonal, and though you're not sitting through a ninety-minute Schoenberg concerto, you're not likely to walk out of the theater humming one of the tunes, either. Still, the sound is clearly Merritt's—the instrumentation itself is full of prepared pianos and other acoustic anamolies—as is the lyrical style for which he is so often praised. (I wrote a couple of rhymes down but then I lost them at a bar after. But it was pretty good stuff.) If you're a fan of the 800 different names under which he records, you'll enjoy it.

All that said, here's the thing about the show: I went in having seen the film, so I was already familiar with the plot. I'm not sure how well it would translate to someone who knew nothing about it. The show's book takes great pains to make the plot clear, and it's not the most intricate scenario ever, but if you're going to go maybe you should read the book or see the movie or check Wikipedia or something first. (Oh, God, I would love to see that used on some sort of promotion: "…check Wikipedia or something first" – Alex Balk, The Awl) Also, the absurdity factor: There is plenty of it here (and also a ton of camp, which should not be unexpected), and there are times when what seems slightly avant garde comes dangerously close to amateurism. It never once crosses the line, but factor in your own tolerance for that sort of thing before you buy your ticket.

There was a brief Q&A with Merritt, pianist Phyllis Chen, and music director Kimberly Grigsby after the performance: Merritt did his usual curmudgeonly shtick, which must be thrilling for the cast and crew to deal with on a regular basis. Anyway, not only is he a pain in the ass, he seems like a perfectionist pain in the ass, so God how many changes there will be from the show I saw to the show you see. If you see the show. Which, on balance, you probably should. It runs through June 20th.