Gotta Believe Theatre Group’s ambitious, expertly produced Relapse: A New Musical, directed by Joey McKneely and with Musical Direction by Jordon Cunningham, is now enjoying its World Premiere at Manhattan’s Theater Row.  The play boldly explores such subject matters as eating disorders, suicide, addiction, and the long-term struggle to conquer one’s mental and emotional demons.  Can these sensitive subjects actually be an inspiration for a satisfying and enjoyable musical theater experience, without becoming too “heavy-handed” or having the “clinical” feel of a staged documentary? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”.  The success of Relapse comes from a respectful yet take-no-prisoners script, well-developed characters, and a cast of “triple threat” performers who excel at acting, dancing, and singing.  The end result is one of the most original, provocative, and overall entertaining theater experiences in recent years.

Relapse: A New Musical takes place entirely in an involuntary psychiatric unit, with a minimal set. (For most of the running time, the only set pieces are six chairs arranged horizontally onstage.) The unit is governed by the by-the-books Dr. Derrick Carlisle (Troy Valjean Rucker) and his selfless right-hand woman, Registered Nurse Margot (Ashley Alexandra).  The four patients of this unit are gathered together for the daily group therapy session.  In the case of Relapse, the call for the meeting not only kicks off the story, but also allows the audience to meet the motley crew of patients.  Those patients are paranoid schizophrenic Melinda (Mia Cherise Hall), who has suffered through ECT treatments; bulimic Brian (Randall Scott Carpenter), and blunt-spoken “bad girl” Kendra (Becca Suskauer), who suffers from borderline personality disorder. The newest addition to this makeshift “family” is alcoholic Adam (Jacob Ryan Smith), who has just been involuntarily admitted that day.  There’s a reason, by the way, that group therapy sessions have become something of a trope in many media depictions of mental health settings. While their actually worth is often questioned and even lampooned (Becca Suskauer’s wise-cracking Kendra, who gets many of the play’s funniest lines, declares, “You can pretend we’re all ‘kumbaya’, but really this is ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ and we’re all just playing survival of the fittest!”), the group meetings in this play give the opportunity for some excellent ensemble-style drama and comedy. But while there may be four patients in Relapse, there’s more than meets the eye.  Each of the patients has their own ever-so-subtly color-coordinated “intrusive thoughts”.  The four “intrusives” (Vinny Celerio, Audree Hedequist, Nicole Lamb, and Zummy Mohammed) are always around.  What is their function?  Aside from frequently breaking into superbly choreographed song and dance numbers, these attractive yet omnipresent “personal demons” exist mainly to remind the patients why they are committed. 

Even though there is plenty of humor, dark and otherwise, in Relapse (An entire song, the zany Flush, is about flushing your psych meds down the toilet.), the play shows great respect for the subject matter, without getting preachy or patronizing towards its characters.  The creative team and cast of Relapse never poke fun at the patients or their conditions; rather, they humorously point out the rote, assembly-line style treatment which these characters have no choice but to accept.  The creators of the play have clearly done a great deal of research; I’d be so bold as to say that there’s more insight into psychiatric issues in the first 15 minutes of Relapse than in an entire Netflix original docuseries.  It also offers that insight, I might add, with far more humanity and general audience appeal.  Anyone who works in the medical industry will no doubt appreciate the realistic dialogue, as well as be amused by the familiar platitudes used (overused?) by those workers, of which there are many (“We try not to use labels here!” “It’s OK not to be OK!” “Everyone’s journey is different!“, etc)… Many of those platitudes come from the  hardworking but weary Nurse Margot, who may very well be the most sympathetic character in the entire play as she sings the lyrics, “The life of a nurse isn’t easy or fun, When the day is over, a new shift’s begun; I bend over backwards smiling and trying to please, Ignoring remarks they pass me with ease…” in The Grey Anatomy of You (More about that later…)

Of course, no musical can succeed without great music.  Thankfully, the play’s many original rock and pop-flavored songs by J. Giachetti and Louis Josephson are all superb, starting with the hard-hitting Wasteland. Upbeat tempo notwithstanding, with lyrics like “Welcome to the wasteland, welcome to your game! Welcome to denial, hiding from the shame!…”, the song doesn’t hold back.  My first reaction was, “How do you top THAT opening number?”  Surely enough, the next song, Psych 101, is a real show-stopper: a mirthful romp, done in old-school Broadway musical style, about serious subjects.  All of the young, energetic actors get the chance to show off their musical talents individually, and they also combine those talents very well.  Outta Here and the phenomenal Shattered Brain are perfect example of the cast’s creative synergy. While there are many high-energy numbers, there are also the more tender moments, including The Grey Anatomy of You, a duet between the play’s doctor and nurse. It’s no less than breathtaking. The fleshing out of the characters of Dr. Carlisle and Nurse Margot is yet another example of how well-researched and realistic this story is: As ethical as this doctor is and as saintly as this nurse is, the dedicated pair are still powerless over a larger factor which governs healthcare, in America at least (Two guesses won’t be necessary what it is.)  It would be inaccurate to say that Relapse ends on a “happy” note, but in keeping in the realism of the science of mental and emotional illness, this supreme slice of theater offers its fragile characters something much, much more valuable: hope. 

Relapse: A New Musical will play a three-week limited engagement at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row – Theatre 5 (410 West 42nd Street, NY NY 10036). Performances begin Saturday, September 2 and continue through Saturday, September 23. Opening Night is Wednesday, September 6 (7 p.m.).  Tickets are $27.50-$57.50 and are available at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/relapse/.  Also visit the official site here.

Listen to the Relapse: A New Musical the concept album here: Stream Relapse the Musical | Listen to Concept Album playlist online for free on SoundCloud