"Weird Romance" is the joint title of two one-act musicals, and one of the weirder things about them is that, judging from Fell's Point Corner Theatre's production, the second is far better than the first.
The difference isn't in the scores -- both have music by Alan Menken -- or in the genre -- both have science-fiction plots. This is a familiar combination for Menken, who started his career collaborating with the late Baltimorean Howard Ashman on two science-fiction musicals, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" and "Little Shop of Horrors."
Instead, the problem has to do with complexity. The first and weaker one-act is based on a story by the pseudonymous James Tiptree Jr. called "The Girl Who Was Plugged In." The libretto, adapted by Alan Brennert and David Spencer, has a fairly convoluted story line and technical demands to match. In contrast, the second one-act, "Her Pilgrim Soul," based on an original story by Brennert, is more straightforward and thematically stronger.
To start with the better half, "Her Pilgrim Soul" is about a scientist (Deron Lovaas) who is creating holograms when he is suddenly confronted with one he didn't design. The image starts out as a fetus, then ages at the rate of a decade a day.
The scientist soon becomes intrigued by this unsummoned stranger (touchingly played by Maribeth Vogel Eckenrode), and he begins spending more time at the lab and less time at home with his wife (Robin Brillante), who already suspects her spouse's affections are wavering since he has been unable to make the commitment to have a child.
Without giving more away, "Her Pilgrim Soul" -- the title is from Yeats' "When You Are Old" -- makes a moving comment about living life to the fullest, even in the face of tragedy. Since "Weird Romance" opened off-Broadway more than a year after Ashman died of AIDS complications, it's impossible not to interpret it as a statement of Menken's own determination to go on.
In addition to this poignant message, "Her Pilgrim Soul" also has "Weird Romance's" best -- and funniest -- songs, particularly the hilarious trio, "A Man," sung with comic panache by Brillante, Tracie Nicole Thoms and Michelle Conroy.
On the other hand, "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a more gizmo-oriented story. Set in the next century, it focuses on a corporate chairman (Bill Kamberger) who decides that instead of depending on unreliable entertainers to promote his products, he's going to create the perfect spokeswoman. In a "Frankenstein"-like move, his chief scientist transfers the mind of a bag lady (Eckenrode) into the man-made body of a beautiful woman (Thoms). "Worth It," the duet these women sing when they come face-to-face -- don't ask how -- displays the most beautiful harmony of the evening.
But back to gizmos. The transfer takes place in two chambers, and once the switch is made, Thoms' character is fitted with remote-controlled pain-and-pleasure implants. Director Terry Long and set designer Jim Slivka might have been able to get around some of this gadgetry by taking a less serious, "Dr. Who"-style approach. Instead, they've followed the literal -- but low-budget -- route. And, combined with characters who are little more than caricatures, the result is a flawed interpretation of a flawed script.
Still, it's worth sitting through the first act to get to the simpler and lovelier "Her Pilgrim Soul." This is the first time "Weird Romance" has been produced on the East Coast outside of New York, and it seems fitting that it is being done in the hometown of Menken's late collaborator. The tribute would have been even more effective if Fell's Point Corner had scrapped "Plugged In" and merely mounted "Her Pilgrim Soul."
"Weird Romance"
Where: Fell's Point Corner Theatre, 251 S. Ann St.
When: Through Feb. 26; 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
Tickets: $12
Call: (410) 276-7837
** 1/2