REVIEWS

Such is the case with Trent Armand Kendall’s one-man show PICTURE INCOMPLETE. Kendall, a musical theatre veteran whose credits include INTO THE WOODS (Broadway), FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE (London), BAT BOY (Off-Broadway) and THE COLOR PURPLE (1^st National Tour), takes his audience on an exploration through what the liner notes on the CD calls "the neat little boxes into which we put each other and ourselves." Throughout the journey we meet a series of characters (all played with aplomb by Kendall) – introspective homeless man Clarence, obnoxious neighbor Mavis and her two sons De Ron and Fred Jr., pill-pushing shrink Dr. Feelgood and over-the-top preacher Reverend Righteous.

The show is actually a series of small song & monologue vignettes covering subjects that have been explored before in other musicals including the insecurities of fatherhood, coming out as a gay man, religion, drug addiction etc. But the highly listenable score by Michael Polese handles each subject thoughtfully, realistically and without apology.

Score highlights are the exuberant opening and closing songs, SEE and BLESS THIS MESS; the very funny, insightful "coming out" tune WALK-IN CLOSET and two hauntingly lovely ballads A FATHER'S LAMENT and BLIND. (If you’re a cabaret artist looking for new material, I strongly suggest listening to BLIND in particular. Very solid cabaret piece.) While mostly gospel and R&B-inspired, the score also has enough traditional showtune flavor to appeal to the mainstream musical theatergoer.