Theatre--Review (Cite Des Arts)

Exile

Music by Valerian Smith

Book by Maureen Brennan

What's more important to leave behind: accomplishment or love? That's the question that sits at the heart of the new musical Exile, now running at Cite des Arts.

On what will be the last day of his life, Napoleon sits in his quarters on the Isle of St. Helena, attempting to write his memoirs. He wants a record of his political legacy, and he furiously tries to write against the coming end. He's interrupted, however, by a mysterious figure called The Shade – part conscience, part grim reaper – and an insistent chorus of voices echoing his inner thoughts. The Shade pushes him to confront faces from the past, and Napoleon struggles to reconcile his political legacy with the emotional wreckage he's inflicted on the people he loved.

It's pretty juicy stuff. But Exile adds another intriguing layer – when this show sings, it sings in the voice of gospel, blues and R&B. Not only are we watching a man's emotional reckoning, but we're also watching an interesting clash of culture and history.

That Exile doesn't quite add up to a satisfying evening of theatre is, in no uncertain terms, a disappointment. There's a lot of interesting material at play here, and the show bristles with some really compelling ideas. At this stage, though, it hasn't quite found the way to harness them and shape them into an evening that packs a mighty punch.

On the performance end of things, a few cast members deliver memorable work. Erica Fox lands the evening's biggest vocal moment as Marie Louise – quite a voice on Ms. Fox – and I wished she'd have gotten more stage time. Ian Bonin has an affecting moment as Napoleon's son, and Stephanie Broussard has some fire and flash as Napoleon's mother (although I was disappointed that she didn't get a chance to sing). Most impressive is A.D Dugar as The Shade, finding some humor in the show's more serious scenes and offering some emotionally resonant vocal work as well.

But Exile falters in the storytelling. At the heart of the show seems to be an exploration of what an individual's legacy really is and how one holds oneself responsible for what we leave behind. Exile's Napoleon wants desperately to be remembered for his brilliant (if historically maligned) military and political career, but what haunts him are the emotional disappointments, the betrayals, the personal failures and, in the show's nicest musical moment, his absence as a father. The show hasn't quite located this as its heart yet, so scenes that should play as explosive emotional confrontations instead meander around philosophical, speculative talk. When the show does hit the heart of its intentions (as in the lovely duet between father and son and Ms. Fox's farewell vocal moment) the show works like gangbusters. But it doesn't yet do it consistently and it doesn't do it over the full arc of the evening.

I also came away from the show wishing for a more radical exploration of the show's intriguing culture clash. Valerian Smith's score contains some truly lovely things, and it was at it's most interesting when it played with gospel and the blues. I left wondering if there's a show here that explores the final days of Napoleon through the lens of the African-American experience, a show that makes this culture clash more text than subtext, a show that looks at questions of legacy, family, accountability and regret through the filter of the black experience in America. It seems that all the parts are there in Smith's score, and it was the quiet undercurrent that kept me thinking about the show on the way home from the theatre.

There's a powerful, challenging and exciting musical in Exile.  And if this production isn't quite the full expression of that musical now, there's still enough here that's worth experiencing. There are some committed and engaging performances, some thought-provoking ideas and a lovely score here. And it's the work of homegrown writers. Lafayette has slowly developed a thriving scene of new work, and Exile is the latest entrant in that world. Support it, so that other new theatre pieces will take root and bloom here.

--Cody Daigle