So here's a story. I gots these friends, right? And they act and sing. Sometimes they put those talents together. One such instance is Mickey Zetts and his musical Apathy. What's Apathy? Damned if I know.
What's Apathy? Damned if I know.He started talking about it in early 2005, and I gathered that it's a show from his Florida Playwrights' Theatre days. That's all I had to go on for a long time.
Then our friend Duncan was in my apartment in June, and he saw my copy of the Mickey's Ickies EP Get Out Now. He said "oh, mine is different." I knew there were different versions of this record (mine begins with "Failing Miserably" but I a later version began with "La La La (Rock And Roll)"). But Duncan was referring to an earlier version, one that was subtitled "Songs From Apathy."
A-HA! So as it turns out, I'm quite a bit more familiar with the show than I had previously imagined. So I knew I would at least like the music.
A couple of weeks later, I am in Mickey and Duncan's apartment, and Mickey is showing scenes from the Florida production to the current director to show her the stage layout. He's not showing it for people to watch, so I just see two small bits. One bit is a police officer arriving at the apartment, and everybody flipping out and hiding drugs. And after he spins on, Mickey gives a bit of context to the next scene he shows by saying "at this point in the show, everybody is on acid."
Yeah. So it's one of those. Dude, I hate those shows. And this is beyond the fact that I don't do drugs or drink alcohol. Or maybe it's not. But anyway, I'm just not entertained by drug-based... well, entertainment I guess is the word.
So now I know that it's about a bunch of drug users/dealers, who are apathetic and... well, that's it.So now I know that it's about a bunch of drug users/dealers, who are apathetic and... well, that's it. So I'll go see it, but really as a "yeah, I support my friends, and at least I like the music."
So the show starts. Malphoof is playing his guitar, which is good stuff. People come in, dressed like people I didn't like when I was in high school. Then Laka has her mother and Babbett on call waiting and... it's funny. And more characters come in... and more funny. Some are one-liner type gags, but the grand majority of the jokes are character-based. The kind of extreme comments that "only that person could possibly say." This isn't a show written for and by stoners. It's actually intelligent. Sweet.
Of course I had a hint of this. Smart people are involved. And fans have been talking about it the past ten years. So how bad could it be? Despite these obvious indicators, I still went in expecting to be unimpressed.
After intermission, it dawned on me that there was no overlying plot going on. And if one were going to appear, it was going to be absolutely ridiculous (in a bad way) and would alienate me. "Don't you dare, Mickey Zetts," my inner nag voice ranted, "don't you dare tack on a cheesy plot."
It just was. It just is. It's how it should be.And he listened. Characters had movement, things happened, but there was no "we need to save Christmas!" call to action. It just was. It just is. It's how it should be.
This is the point where I'd be clever and say "Go see Apathy. Or don't. I don't care." But the truth is I do care. See Apathy.
http://www.apathythemusical.com/