When the house lights dim for “Shipping” at The Elysian and a cloaked woman wanders the stage picking shellfish from the water, eating one rotten clam after the next, you may find yourself thinking: What, exactly, have I gotten myself into?
Before long, that feeling of apprehension washes away after the mystery woman introduces herself as “The Barnacle Bitch” (Susan Glynn). When we then meet most of the rest of the cast in the opening number “Weird Little Sand Girl,” they set a high bar for the rest of the show. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t miss a beat!
“Shipping” is a musical about a young girl from Nantucket in the 1800s, Izzy Goodspeed (Jordan Lee Cohen), who struggles to find her place in her small world. She is ostracized by her close-knit community for spending all her time on the beach talking with her best friend, a whale named Mary Enya (Olivia Nielsen).
No one believes that Izzy’s moaning is anything other than nonsense, and they plead with her to come to her senses. Instead, she finds “The Barnacle Bitch,” who grants women’s wishes for a husband. Izzy wishes to be a whale so she can join her best friend Mary Enya in the ocean. But life underwater proves to be less idyllic than she imagined when she finds out that Mary Enya is a superstar performer in an all-girl, all-whale pop group, "Wild Fintasy."
The story and lyrics are deeply unserious, and yet the music is so thoughtfully composed that each song is a hit. The singing ability of the cast varies from actor to actor, but all fit perfectly into their roles.
Rashawn Scott’s powerful voice is an absolute pleasure as Addy Goodspeed, Izzy’s older sister. Whether she’s flanked by Chastity (Ryan Asher) and Providence (Alison Banowsky) to teach Izzy a lesson about womanhood in Nantucket in the song “Three Ws,” or joined by the ditzy Captain (Andrew Knox) for a romantic-ish duet, Scott’s performance stands out with excellent singing and hilarious comedy all at once.
Despite a cast full of funny and charismatic characters, Cohen carries the show as lead Izzy. Cohen’s penchant for physical comedy compliments her excellent comedic timing and capable voice. Even if the show didn’t have as talented a supporting cast, Cohen would still have the audience laughing from beginning to end. Luckily for us, the rest of the cast is also very funny. Even one of the smallest characters, a crab and aspiring stand-up comic named Scootch (Meagan Strickland), has the audience in stitches.
Jen Jackson and Louisa Kellogg’s story is silly and raunchy but with an enormous heart. Brian Heveron-Smith’s music brings the whole show to another level. He and Eric Lewis-Baker perform all the music live on stage, an added treat to an already wonderful show. Combined with fun, dynamic choreography from Arne Gjelten, the show feels larger than the humble stage at the Elysian theater. “Shipping” will have you laughing for the full 90 minutes and humming the catchy tunes for weeks to come.
“Shipping” performed at The Elysian, 1944 Riverside Dr., Los Angeles, on Oct. 17 and 18. For more information, visit elysiantheater.com.
Comments