There`s not a whole lot in ”Lobo A Go-Go,” an original musical now at the Theatre Building, that wasn`t in ”Grease,” ”Little Shop of Horrors” or ”The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
On the other hand, theatergoers never seem to weary of the `50s revisited and ravaged, and Chicagoan Jeff Richmond`s time trip is a nice ride-campy, peppy, unpredictable and blissfully silly. Moreover, Richmond is a superbly talented songwriter-his doo-wop ditties and teen-angel melodies boast stylish, intelligent period lyrics and retrograde bounce. Rough spots abound, and there`s an ambling, disorganized feel to it all, but ”Lobo”-clearly the product of an unflappable `50s fanatic-is bound to drum up a legion of fans all its own.
The story is set at the Club Lobo A Go-Go Lounge at Woodrow Wilson High School`s harvest moon semi-formal in 1959. The ”Moon King and Queen” this year are Dean (Drew Berry) and Jamie (Gayla Goehl), your usual `50s attractive, super-popular, stuffy student council twosome. But a string of coed murders under a full moon-killings with suspiciously lupine trappings-has some teens fearful that the monster movies flickering nightly at the drive-in are frightfully coming to life.
And on this particular night, into this world of virginal prom life, comes a pair from the other side of the tracks: Karl (Darren Stephens), a sadistic biker, and Mimi (Alexandra Billings), his slutty girlfriend. The date-swapping, mysterious disappearances and hints of sexual hanky-panky that result inspire four goons-the self-billed Lone Wolves-to undertake a manhunt to track the serial killer, who may or may not be a werewolf.
Linking all this is Richmond`s nonstop musical pastiche, with trios, quartets and duos right out of a Chevy backseat. They swing from ”I`m Killing My Ex-Girlfiend,” a fiendishly funny anti-love letter, to ”Alone in the Night,” a sweet, genuinely beautiful teen ballad and the show`s best song-ingeniously cast on a male character in drag as the Moon Queen, plopped in an empty parking lot as a decoy to lure the killer.
Director John Cameron (who contributed to Richmond`s book and lyrics)
offers colorful, delightfully choreographed action throughout. Billings, as the biker`s sultry girlfriend, is funnier than in ”Vampire Lesbians of Sodom,” and the Lone Wolf quartet-Ed Kross, Gary Simmers, Robert Stone and especially Jordan Simonson-offer bright period caricatures. Stephens`, meanwhile, is a canny biker, somehow breaking a highly stereotyped mold.
And Michael Thomas, on stage much of the time as a low-life lounge musician, provides a smooth voice and an appreciably understated presence. The voices aren`t always powerful enough, despite the mikes; the goody-goody leads are a little weak; and there`s an empty static feel to the so-so first act. The book could use tidying up, and not all 19 numbers are necessary. But
”Lobo” builds to a bang, the werewolf angle neatly brought to fruition in one of the more fetching (and funny) prom queen promenades to grace a runway. `LOBO A GO-GO`
A musical by Jeff Richmond, with additional book and lyrics by John Cameron;
staged and choreographed by Cameron. Playing at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, 8:15 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Length of performance, 2 hours. Tickets are $14.50 to $16.50. Phone 312-327-5252.