THEATER - "High Fidelity"

High Fidelity is an adaptation of a movie’s rendition of a popular book, which sounds like a mess. But although the theatrical production is all over the place, eschewing the top five gimmicks and minimizing the ex-girlfriends, it manages to emphasizes some of the better portions, such as Rob’s revenge fantasies (“Now that you’ve sucked on my big black glock, how about you suck on my *** ***** ****”). Furthermore, Rob’s two friends, Dick and Barry, play their roles so similarly to their film counterparts that they manage to be cute and campy.

The plot, for those unfamiliar with this name-brand musical, involves Rob’s (Will Chase) attempts to come to terms with his unhappiness, something that’s made worse when his girlfriend of four years, Laura (Jenn Colella) leaves. His two music-geek friends and co-workers, Dick and Barry (Christian Anderson and Jay Klaitz) don’t provide much emotional support, as they’re both pretty stunted in their development (which makes them perfect for comic relief), and his one female friend, Liz (Rachel Stern) sides with Laura after she learns what caused the breakup. Things continue to get worse when his ex shacks up with Ian (Jeb Brown), an interventionist who’s into all things tantric, and hit rock bottom when T.M.P.M.I.T.W. (The Most Pathetic Man In The World) calls Rob a “kindred soul.” Oh, and Rob’s also haunted by his imagination, a powerful force that conjures up nightmares of Laura, Ian, and all of his former girlfriends getting it on.

There’s no shortage of things happening: Walter Bobbie’s direction keeps things moving forward, though the real trick is Anna Louizos’s set design, a shuffling series of backdrops that operate almost like a pop-up book and which, at one point, show the parallels between Rob and Laura, post-breakup. There’s no shortage of cleverness either, although this slickness tends to illustrate the shallowness of Tom Kitt’s music. Despite all the 80s influences, it’s not exactly catchy or repeatable stuff, and Amanda Green’s lyrics make even good songs seem generic (“As sure as the baby cries and the river flows/she goes”). Doesn’t change the fact that the show’s still fun to watch, and if the music misses a beat here and there, Christopher Gattelli’s choreography doesn’t (his work on Altar Boyz helps, High Fidelity is mostly 80s pop).

High Fidelity is a fun show, but it’s not the feel-good hit of the season – in fact, it’s not much of a feel anything show. So far as emotion goes, Jenn Colella doesn’t seem to have much, and Will Chase plays one side for so long (almost giddily) that his transformation is barely noticeable. The friends, Anderson and Klaitz, steal most of the attention, especially the former, whose Seymour-like graces make him instantly affable. No, High Fidelity is low comedy, and its success depends entirely on whether or not it can find an audience willing to pay for the next-to-best thing for rock musicals.