WANTED: A new, original Broadway musical that forgoes familiar IP and draws instead on its creators’ imaginations.
DESCRIPTION: Be on the lookout for sisters Mary (Solea Pfeiffer) and Martha (Liisi LaFontaine) Clarke. Armed and dangerous only if you consider rafter-shaking vocal performances a threat. Their mother, Tallulah (Ledisi), while not technically on the run or accused of any crime, is every bit as formidable.
The twins, daughters of a long-gone white father, turn their ability to pass into a tactical advantage, risking their lives to secure enough cash to buy the land their family has been picking cotton on for decades. Mary goes rogue when she falls for corrupt hotelier Jesse (Bradley Jaden), at least until his true nature and his family’s history come to light.
Martha’s romantic interest, Elijah (Luke James), a Black man working at Jesse’s side, has his own historically potent cross to bear. Like so many after Emancipation, he is “free, but not fully free.” Still, their romance needs a match to spark the sluggish subplot.
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Wanted pulses with the urgency of two women taking fate into their own hands, backed by a sharpshooting ensemble. Leading the charge is a six-person chorus of ancestors (the Kinfolk) that sings with the fervor of the Second Coming. The journey, inspired by the true story of book writer and lyricist Angelica Chéri’s great-great-aunts, adds to the mystique.
CHARGES: Despite nearly 60 producers credited above the title, Wanted could use some of that Clarke cash to spruce things up, except for Emilio Sosa’s late 19th-century period costumes with high-fashion flair. Stefania Bulbarella’s video and projection design quickly becomes a blurry background distraction, while Ross Baum’s blues- and hymn-infused score aches for more musicians.
REWARD: Thanks to director Stevie Walker-Webb, choreographer Chelsey Arce, and three powerhouse leading women, this new musical may feel like a jackpot for some. A few counterfeit bills may turn up in those bags of cash, but in an era of revivals and cash-cow adaptations, Wanted is still worth the bounty.
Is ‘Wanted’ worth seeing?
Three powerhouse leading women and a rare original story outgun a sluggish romance and a stretched production budget, making Wanted a bounty worth collecting.
- James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 W. 48th Street, New York City
- Notable performers: Solea Pfeiffer, Liisi LaFontaine, Ledisi, Luke James, Bradley Jaden
- Running time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission
