Have you heard the “White Noise”? White Noise is a brand-new rock musical that opened yesterday at the Royal George Theater in Chicago. The show is about a major record label where a top-selling producer stirs up an explosive cocktail with two diametrically opposed groups-”White Noise,” an irresistible pop band that churns out catchy tunes of coded ratial rhetoric and “Bloodbrothas,” the hip-hop-turned-gangsta rap duo. The show is inspired by real life about the conventional challenges of free speech, media and the power of pop culture. Also, the band White Noise, consisting of the characters Eva and Eden, are loosely based on the real-life sister duo Prussian Blue. Brilliantly written by the young Matte O'Brien; music and lyrics by Robert Morris, Steven Morris and Joe Shane. The show is produced by Whoopi Goldberg, and what a perfect producer to have on board. They all made great effort to make this show rock!
The cast was led by MacKenzie Mauzy as Eva and Emily Padgett as Eden, both extremely talented playing the sisters that formed as White Noise. The band also included Eva's sadistic neo-nazi boyfriend Duke played by Patrick Murney, whose performance showed such strong emotion. The “Bloodbrothas” rap duo is played by incredible duo of Wallace Smith and Rodney Hicks. Then, we have the record producer, the crazy funny Douglas Sills, whose sarcasm and attitude worked really well, along with his assistant Jake played by Eric Morris. They worked great as a team.
As quoted by book writer Matte O' Brien, he said, "White Noise is a powerful and contemporary look at how language and music are used and misused as an influence in pop culture. We live in a world where rhetoric is carefully designed and targeted to sell. As such, it is oftentimes hard to know right from wrong, and we easily become desensitized to what words mean. We hear the noise around us, but we are not listening. This show encourages us to sharpen our awareness to what we're consuming-the words, the sounds, the media messaging-and reminds us that we always have the choice to decide what we take in, and what we let out.”
This show raises the bar for a rock musical. The lights, the set, the band, the cast, the story. It all works! The music and lyrics were very catchy. But watch out! Some of the lyrics in some songs and the language in this show may make some people cringe. Even though the show is very anti-Semitic, racial, and controversial, it did make a very solid point. We should really listen and pay attention to the world around us and what we hear in music and in television, because people decide to take in what they want to hear, and are sometimes blinded by actual reality and the truth behind things. Matte O'Brien makes a very solid point above, talking about how everything is targeted to sell. The people that buy the music really should listen to what they're buying. Sometimes the truth is in the lyrics. Overall, despite a lot of the subject matter and being billed a "Cautionary Musical", please be cautioned because this show could be a solid hit on Broadway!
The production quality was magnificent! I definitely recommend this show to everyone! GO SEE IT! I think this show will make it a long way, especially when it goes to Broadway! Best of luck to the cast and crew to this show! I know I'll definitely be seeing this again.
Tickets are currently on sale for the 8-week limited engagement. April 1-June 5, 2011, at the Royal George box office, 1641 N. Halsted Street, by phone (312) 988-9000 through Ticketmaster or www.whitenoisetickets.com
Tickets for the regular run, on sale through June 5, 2011, are $54.50-$74.50. Student tickets are available at the Royal George box office for $20. Student tickets must be purchased in-person with a student I.D.
For more information, visit www.whitenoisebroadway.com. Follow White Noise on Twitter, http://twitter.com/wnbroadway and http://www.facebook.com/wnbroadway.
