Suicidal stranger ‘Julian Po’ is the talk of the town

THEATER REVIEW

JULIAN PO
Suicidal? You ‘Po’ man. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St.; 212-352-3101. Through tomorrow. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

A drifter wanders into a small town and changes the lives of its inhabitants. No, it’s not “Picnic” or “The Rainmaker” but “Julian Po,” the strange, intriguing new musical, part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Based on a book that was turned into a little-seen Christian Slater film, here Julian is played by Chad Kimball, last seen in “Memphis.” No sooner does his Julian step onstage than he announces that he intends to kill himself. He only has to wait for the next train to arrive.

“Suicide is a federal offense,” warns the town’s blustery mayor (Sean Cullen). Even so, he soon lends Julian a gun, in the ironical musical number “Ain’t Life Funny That Way?”

One by one, the townspeople open themselves up to the mysterious stranger. The 12-year-old orphan Izzy (Issadora Tulalian) asks Julian to be her father. The pastor (Malcolm Gets) takes Julian’s advice and starts reading Darwin. The young and single Tom (Jason Gotay) reveals that he’s gay. The mayor’s unhappy wife (Luba Mason) comes on to him. Town barber Bobby (Jon Fletcher) describes the “voices in my head” urging him to go to Hollywood to become a movie star. And Bobby’s wife, Sarah (Corbin Reid), begins an affair with Julian, hoping to become pregnant.

But as Julian endlessly delays his suicide, they become impatient. They even go so far as to place wagers on when he’ll finally go through with it.

Under Kirsten Sanderson’s fast-paced direction, this mythical, darkly comic tale doesn’t really have much impact. Nor does Andrew Barrett’s sketchy book give us much in the way of fully developed characters.

But it does have a very tuneful score by Bartlett (lyrics) and Ira Antelis (music) that skillfully interweaves country, gospel, bluegrass and pop. The onstage four-piece band doubling as singers, augmented by a keyboardist/conductor, delivers it with joy.

Kimball remains a compelling stage presence, even while playing a character as opaque as Po. He’s well supported by the rest of the cast, particularly Mason, who makes the most of her showy role as the mayor’s alluring wife.

The musical theater fest has been a launching pad for Broadway’s “Chaplin” and other shows. “Julian Po” may not yet be ready for prime-time development, but it deserves points for sheer eccentricity.