Posted on October 6, 2008 at 1:00 am

NY1 Theater Review: “13”
By: Roma Torre
NY1 News, 10/08/2008 04:07 PM

From the band to the actors onstage, it’s an all-teen show on the Great White Way in the new musical “13” by Jason Robert Brown. NY1’s Roma Torre filed the following review.

No matter your persuasion, you have to hand it to “13;” it’s unique. And while it certainly is limited in many respects, it also does exactly what it sets out to do – appeal to the middle-school set.

Given the hormonal angst typical of this crowd, there’s plenty of material to exploit. My daughter, who just turned 13, was predictably impressed. As for everyone else, considering that my junior high memories rank somewhere between root canal and giving birth without drugs, I found “13” to be relatively painless, and even kind of fun.

Adults put it together, but kids are front and center – a neat trick that can only work if the performers are sufficiently talented. Ranging in age from 13 to 17, including the onstage band, these kids are phenomenally talented. Pulling off a Broadway-calibre performance at such tender ages is quite a coup and on that front there are no complaints.

The story concerns 12-year-old Evan Goldman on the Upper West Side, who’s fretting about his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. For Evan, getting through the Torah is nothing compared to the ordeal of the guest list. Popularity at this age is everything and Evan is practically willing to sell his soul to get the cool kids to come.

So, when his newly-divorced mother abruptly announces he’s moving to Indiana, he freaks. There, he meets geeky soul mates Patrice and Archie, with a degenerative disease, who both happen to be on the outs with the popular jock Brett, the dim beauty Kendra, and her sidekick, the mean Lucie. The 90-minute story gets around to the moral that growing up means learning to figure out what’s truly important in life.

Jason Robert Brown captures the spirit of the generation with strong, catchy tunes. Dan Elish and Robert Horn’s book meets the challenge of finding a universal story that can appeal to an entire age group, even managing some adult-size humor. And Jeremy Sams paces it all well with brisk direction.

“13” may be kids stuff on stage, but the adult collaborators help to elevate this well beyond a routine assignment. Kids might say they aced it. I’d give it a B!