Existentialism Is Set to Music in ‘Moscow’

Curiouser and curiouser. It’s not often that one thinks of existentialism and musicals in the same context. Yet “Moscow,” the second offering in Playwrights’ Arena’s inaugural season at the company’s Los Angeles Theatre Center space, is exactly that--an existential musical.

The brainchild of Nick Salamone (book and lyrics) and Maury R. McIntyre (music), “Moscow” was first produced in Los Angeles in 1998 and went on to win the top honor at that year’s Edinburgh Festival. Recently returned from yet another stint at the Fringe, the play is scheduled for several more productions both here and abroad.

Pared down and reworked since its debut, the plot remains an exercise in pure eccentricity. Three gay men, trapped in some indeterminate limbo, mount a cross-dressing, musical production of Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters” in a desperate attempt to make sense of their existential dilemma.

It plays a lot like “No Exit” with solos. But don’t expect the sour erudition of Sartre in this case. Existentialism with a heart, the show melds typically antithetical extremes--such as intellectualism and sweetness, for instance--into one richly diverting oddity.

The characters in the play represent a melding of extremes as well. Jon (Clay Storseth), a scholarly playwright who has lost many loved ones to AIDS, has retreated into cerebral celibacy. Luke (forceful Nic Arnzen), a sexually needy male hustler, lives solely for the next fleshly encounter. And Matt (Wilson Cruz), a shy virgin, struggles to balance the conflicting urges of love and lust.

Trapped, uncertain if they are alive or dead, the men soon become emotionally embroiled. Naturally, romance is rocky in this limbo: Luke loves Matt, who is resolutely inaccessible to Luke’s advances; Matt loves Jon, who is resolutely inaccessible to Matt’s advances, and so on, circularly.

In fact, resolute inaccessibility is key to the plot, a lot of which revolves around a strained “Chase me! Chase me!” dynamic. These guys are past masters of the Doris Day demurral, and that proves dramatically problematic at points. Problematic, also, is the fact that the performers tend to be drowned out by the live music.

However, Jessica Kubzansky’s streamlined staging, enhanced by Robert “Bobby” Fromer’s lighting, minimizes the flaws of this imperfect but uplifting piece. Unlike the tormented trio in “No Exit,” who spiral into despair, the characters in “Moscow” rally, recoup and bond. It’s a timely tribute to the redemptive powers of art, a reminder that even the most apparently hopeless lives can be transformed through the unifying fellowship of the theater.

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“Moscow,” Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A., Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Oct. 14. $15-$20. (213) 485-1681. Running time: 2 hours.