By Elise Nussbaum
How do you write a musical about something that didn’t happen? In January 2018, people across Hawaii received an alert that a ballistic missile was headed for them, causing widespread panic. It seemed highly plausible that they were headed for the big one—but it was shortly discovered to have been a false alarm, triggered by an employee who had not understood the assignment. This Is Not a Drill, currently running at the York Theatre and directed by Joseph Hayward, dramatizes the effect of this false alarm on one hotel’s guests and staff, with heartwarming but uneven results.
Holly Doubet and Joseph McDonough’s script introduces us to a cast of characters, each of whom are in Hawaii for their own reasons: a middle-aged couple (Gary Edwards and Aurelia Williams) facing health problems and a slide into apathy; a woman (Felicia Finley) who can’t quite bring herself to give up on her marriage to an unfaithful husband; a gay couple from Cincinnati (Matt Curiano and Chris Doubet) mourning an adoption that didn’t come through; and a local family (Caitlin Burke, Kelvin Moon Loh, and Sam Poon) wrestling with the commodification of Hawaiian culture for wealthy tourists. That’s a lot to address in 90 minutes, especially when each “unit” gets their “I Want” song and a “Here’s How Facing My Own Mortality Has Changed Me” song. The end result is affecting, but somewhat superficial.
The musical’s songs (credited to Holly Doubet, Kathy Babylon, and John Vester) lean toward the power ballad end of the spectrum, with “Cincinnati Boys” providing a welcome burst of power pop and “Real Thing” and “Damn I’m Sorry” bringing an acidic tinge to undercut the sweetness of the rest of the show.
The set is suffused with soothing beachy tones (lighting design by Alan C. Edwards), with a versatile thatched roof that can be shelter, backdrop or ambience (set design by Edward Pierce). A visible orchestra in location-appropriate outfits builds up the ambience of a tourist destination that famously features live performance as a main attraction for visitors. The choice to have many of the characters looking at their cell phones for one reason or another may be realistic, but it’s not always satisfying theatrically—when one character declares that cell phones should be illegal in Hawaii, it’s hard not to agree with him.
Though each cast member is limited to one or two big moments, they make the most of them. Matt Curiano and Chris Doubet seem to be having the most fun (they get to sing “Cincinnati Boys,” which helps), though their relationship starts in such a solid place that it’s hard to tell what exactly the experience has changed for them. Felicia Finley doesn’t have a lot to play against, as most of her emotional scenes take place talking on the phone, but her vulnerability and determination come through in her singing. Gary Edwards and Aurelia Williams play a submerged tenderness that comes through in the songs “Start All Over” and “Face of Love”—the lyrics may be corny, but Edwards and Williams sing the hell out of them. Lukas Poost channels the jittery, rubber-faced energy of an 80s movie jerkass as Anonymous Button Guy, but when he sings that the alert wasn’t his fault because “this was a total systems failure”… are we not supposed to think that the jerkass has a point?
This Is Not a Drill may be taking on more than it can effectively handle within the confines of a 90-minute musical. Themes of Hawaiian native identity as it relates to the tourism juggernaut are raised (the hotel manager’s cultural touchpoints are South Pacific, Beach Blanket Bingo, and Elvis Presley), but largely dropped in order to focus on the emotional journeys of the well-heeled guests. The anticlimax at the center of the story muddies the characters’ journeys: it’s unclear why Derek, for example, who is awaiting the results of what appear to be some pretty heavy-duty medical tests, needs a bomb scare to realize that life is short and love is precious. The most effective elements of the show depict the unexpected bonds formed among strangers in a time of crisis, and the ripple effects that ensue.
This Is Not a Drill. Through October 11 at The York Theatre (150 East 76th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues)
