From left: Dana Aber plays Kim, David L. Murray Jr. is the Conductor, and Cody Gerszewski is Larry in Al Tapper and Tony Sportiello’s new musical comedy, On the Right Track, at the AMT Theater.
Tony Sportiello and Albert M. Tapper’s new musical comedy On the Right Track invites audiences to ride the rails on a New Jersey Transit train carrying three couples who have three very different problems. Sensitively directed by Mauricio Cedeño, the show is not only entertaining but edifying. It also reminds folks that “sometimes the key to happiness is simply a matter of knowing which door you want to open . . . and which one you want to keep closed.”
Aber plays top financier Marie and Gerszewski is Terry in On the Right Track. Photographs by Crystal Blake.
That last observation is made by the character known as the Conductor, a mystical figure who is in charge of the action and comments upon it. Played with confidence, good nature and a New Jersey accent by David L. Murray Jr., the Conductor shows great sangfroid in dealing with passengers in various dilemmas. Murray’s vibrant presence enables the easy flow of the production, and the interweaving of its 15 songs into the narrative.
Sportiello (book) and Tapper (lyrics and music) have acknowledged paying homage to the classic TV series The Twilight Zone. As they surreally position a quaint railroad car and its travelers against the larger context of endless time and history, they celebrate the power of human connection and staying true to oneself.
Murray isn’t the only one shining on stage: the versatile Dana Aber inhabits the distaff characters Kim, Karen, and Marie with aplomb. And the resourceful Cody Gerszewski is convincing as all the men: Larry, Jake, and Terry.
The first scene revolves around Kim and her husband, Larry, who are returning home on the train following an award ceremony for his work in cancer research. Larry has purposefully sought out an empty railroad car for privacy, planning to break the news to Kim that he’s contemplating an affair with his secretary Linda. Kim takes the news like a punch to her stomach, pressing Larry to explain why he’s betraying her. He points to boredom as the culprit and elaborates upon it in their first duet, “I Like What I Am.”
Suffice it to say that the Conductor soon enters and freezes the action with a snap of his fingers. He will serve as makeshift marriage counselor to Larry, and though some may feel that it’s a cliché, Larry undergoes a sea change that allows him to fall back in love with Kim.
The second vignette puts politics front and center, as the audience meets Jake and Karen, “a team of spin.” Their current project is to get wealthy Democrat Daniel Longfellow elected Speaker of the House. In a song aptly titled “The Spin,” Jake and Karen reveal their special recipe for toying with truth:
Karen: We take the truth and spin it.
We take his faults add some schmaltz and spin it.
Jake: For what are facts, but mere abstracts.
We correct misconceptions, then we don’t take questions.
Gerszewski plays Terry, a latter-day Grim Reaper, and Aber is the wealthy Marie in one of the bleaker scenes in On the Right Track.
This segment couldn’t be timelier, given the current controversy over Congressman George Santos’s fabrications on his resumé. Longfellow, a pathological liar, is almost a mirror image of Santos. Topicality aside, the Conductor again steps in and freezes the action, providing Karen and Jake an opportunity to reflect on how their work is poisoning not only their souls but the country’s political landscape.
The final story has the flavor of Frank Capra’s screwball comedies. It introduces us to Marie Woodward, one of the top movers and shakers in the financial world. But with her Ferrari in the repair shop, Marie must take the train. She doesn’t realize it, but she is about to have a meeting with the Grim Reaper, who goes by his mononym, Terry. When Terry first informs Marie that she is dead, the result of a blood vessel bursting in her brain, she refuses to believe it. Terry calls for the Conductor, and with his assistance they soon realize that a mistake has been made. Terry was supposed to have a meeting with a different Marie Woodward. Indeed, Marie returns to life—but she’s now a wiser woman. She sees that money means little when one is dead, and she starts investing her time and energy with people.
This redemptive show is sentimental, without ever toppling over into mawkishness. Those theatergoers who enjoy a touch of magic in their musicals should make tracks to On the Right Track.
The AMT Theater production of On the Right Track runs through May 11 at AMT Theater (354 W. 45th St.). Evening performances are at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; matinees are at 3 p.m. Wednesday. For tickets and information, call the box office at (917) 388-2630 or visit amttheater.org or telecharge.com.
Book: Tony Sportiello
Music & Lyrics: Albert M. Tapper
Director: Mauricio Cedeño
Sets: Josh Iacovelli
Costumes: Debbi Hobson
Lighting: Rocky Noel
Sound: Ryan Marsh
