Rue Mevlana Presents Motley Rue At the Off Center For The Dramatic Arts September 5, 2015

Words by Tim Lewis.

I just got back from the theater, or seeing music, or whatever the heck that just was. I knew Rue Mevlana was going to have way too much dance pop music for my taste, but they often seem to have a cool edge to the songs, so I thought I’d take a chance and walk around the corner and see the show billed as Motley Rue.

They held it on North Winooski Ave at the Off Center For The Dramatic Arts. I took the 5 minute walk over, slipped into the nondescript door on the side, checked in with will call, and waited until they opened the doors. We walked down the hall, into the room, down the next hall, then down the next one into the tiny black box theater. I grabbed a chair in the back and soon it was showtime. 

They began with some cool flowing music and increasingly trippy images lighting up the back of the stage. It had a nice moody feel and was exactly how I thought they would open. Even though most of the music was prerecorded, they set the tone on the first song as two singers let their lovely live voices float across the dance beat flowing song. The show unfolded as a series of songs with wildly intense backing visuals and detailed costumes. Some of the songs had fun stories to go along with them and some were full on dance productions. Most were a mixture. In the late middle of the set they told the story of Echo and Narcissus and followed with the story of Hermes and Aphrodite, though sadly there was no hint of The Fountain Of Salmacis. There was one song with a woman singing a cool and powerful balled where a violin player joined in. The extra live instrument added a nice edge to the song. She came back to play a little more when they did Magenta Man which only enhanced it’s dramatic edge. Freak Our Friday was a fun number, but it was the clarity of the imagery and the depth of the entire show that made the night so fun. They ended up with the large cast filling the stage for one last song and filing out through the audience, bouncing with joy. Musically it was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I don’t take advantage of all of the dramatic arts in this town often enough, and it was good to push myself a little bit. And, there’s just enough of that certain something in most of their songs, that I can grab on to. I really had a good time and am really glad I went

This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.