Brian's NYC

The cast of the show consists of thirteen teenagers (thirteen year olds, if you will), with the band consisting of teenagers as well! The amount of young talent on the stage is astonishing. I only wish that the show was able to showcase more of it!

First there's the plot, which seemed a bit trivial, trite, and shallow. But should we expect more from a story about thirteen year olds? It was fluffy enough to be entertaining, but they were also clearly trying to reach a level of depth that they just weren't achieving.

Then there's the music. Shows of JRB's like The Last 5 Years and Songs For A New World are completely filled with memorable songs and passages, while shows like Parade have some showstoppers and memorable songs, but others serve as plot enhancing numbers. 13 is much like that kind of show. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The music that JRB has written was my favorite part of the show!

The cast, as I said before is ridiculously talented, yet underutilized. So underutilized, in fact, that they added an encore after the curtain call where ensemble members who did very little in the show were showcased vocally and with choreography. It was all very impressive and entertaining, but I felt like it was also excessive and unnecessary. I'm sad that the show was not turned into more of an ensemble piece with the amount of talent on the stage. I found myself thinking "Where was this girl for the last two hours?!" a lot, and also thinking "I'm really glad these kids are awesome tappers, but this little dance break is just out of place."

Reflecting back on the show, I appreciate JRB for being able to showcase these ridiculously talented young performers, but the show lacks the durability, longevity, and the depth to take it very far. We'll see how popular and long lasting it is! Hopefully it will at least reach its teenage stages!