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Regional Reviews: Phoenix We Ain't Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical Also see Gil's reviews of Ragtime and Six: Teen Edition
Gregg Hammer, Louis Pardo, and Scott Weinstein have attempted to create a satire of these types of shows with their We Ain't Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical, which uses a duo modeled on Simon and Garfunkel and a structure similar to many jukebox musicals. The show is making its world premiere at The Phoenix Theatre Company. While there are several laugh out loud moments, some nice songs, and a few lines that joke about other shows in this genre, it's also a tad too long and not quite the satire it's being billed as. Fortunately, Hammer and Pardo are very talented and the poignant ending provides a high note for this fun, cheerful and charming show. We Ain't Ever Gonna Break Up... centers around Saul Hymon and Bart Parfunkel, who meet in the early 1960s as teens in junior high and form a folk duo that has many ups and downs, both backstage and onstage. The show follows them over a couple of decades as they compromise their core beliefs to become successful performers and mirrors many of the well-known moments in Simon and GarfunkelÂ’s lives, including their breakups and reuniting at their Central Park concert. This show had a successful staged reading at Phoenix Theatre's 2024 Festival of New American Theatre, and the script begins with making fun of other jukebox musicals. However, after the beginning, which is a direct take off of how Jersey Boys opens in a somewhat odd way, the rest of the jokes make more fun of the characters and not other shows in this genre, so it's less of a satire than a comical jukebox show built around fictional characters. Hammer and Pardo's score features some very fun, and often inappropriate, lyrics and the songs lampoon those in the Simon and Garfunkel catalog. There is a nice variety of song styles and some rich harmonies as well. Hammer and Pardo are very talented singers who make each song land quite well. Scott Weinstein's spirited direction and the energetic performances helps to overcome the fact that Hammer and Pardo play every character in the musical and are both often on stage throughout the 95-minute length of the show. Douglas Clarke's set design and the lighting from Nathaniel White work quite well to portray the various locals in the show, although on the night I attended, the back wall set piece got stuck, which meant we never got to see the large sign that displays the group's names depicted in the show photos. Maci Hosler's hair and costume designs firmly set the characters in the period of the show. Hammer's music direction and Chris Neumeyer's sound design derive crisp, clear notes throughout. We Ain't Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical may not be a perfect show, since it's somewhat repetitive and could be tightened up by about 10 minutes, but it is a humorous, charming and poignant musical about two fictional singer songwriters and the highs and lows they find on their road to fame. We Ain't Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical runs through November 3, 2024, at The Phoenix Theatre Company, 1825 N Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ. For tickets and information, please visit phoenixtheatre.com or call 602-254-2151. Written by Gregg Hammer and Louis Pardo
Developed with and directed By Scott Weinstein Cast: *Members of ActorsÂ’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S. |
