Eric Woolfson's POE (CD/DVD)

Here is a rarity indeed. Two versions of a new musical by Eric Woolfson, (titled for obvious reasons, Edgar Allen Poe: A Musical by Eric Woolfson)founding father of The Alan Parsons Project in the 1970s, a rock concept band with more than 45 million records to its credit. The musical itself is an extension of the APP which in 1976 released an album of songs based on Poe's stories: Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe.

Woolfson, who left his rock group to write for the theater has several other shows under his belt, none of which has seen much action in the United States although they have played all over Europe and even won a few Korean Tony Awards - I didn't know there were Korean Tony's.

The first of these two recordings, the CD (audio only) contains ten songs (in eleven bands) and features the male star of the backer's audition version of the show which appears full blown and visible on the DVD release. It is important to note that both versions were recorded at the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios in 2003, the home base for Woolfson's rock group partner, Alan Parsons who was not involved with this project having retired to California in the late 1990s.

The music disc features tenor Steve Balsamo as Poe; he sings versions of his own songs from the show, although in quite different arrangements. These include the devastatingly emotional "Somewhere in the Audience," and "Immortal" which is the show's finale, an anthem delivered by the already dead poet. Other numbers are delivered in high style by The Metro Voices, the Brighton Festival Chorus, Fred Johanson and even by Woolfson himself. The composer's stirring rendition of The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a treasure indeed.

In the liner notes he reveals how important it was for the project to have found Balsamo. The proof of that statement comes not so much in the CD as in the DVD. A brief additional piece on this second disc shows the modest set being erected, as if by magic, in Studio One at Abbey Road. The cast, soloists and chorus, are costumed and the show has been staged and choreographed, theatrically lit and cast with an eye to the youthful allure of a company of unknown players. All of them are very good.

Julie Caton as Poe's cousin and wife is charming and fragile. Anna-Jane Casey plays his first love and his last love very well. Karen Davis kills as Poe's mother with her song "Tiny Star." The Royal Shakespeare Company's David Burt plays Poe's arch-rival, The Reverend Rufus Griswold, with an almost silent movie like set of gestures and facial expressions and the delightfully "cute" James Gillian is Griswold's confidante and unscrupulous assistant (read that as any euphemism you like) Reynolds.

It is the beauty, grace, talent and charm of Steve Balsamo, however, that holds the two hours together. Woolfson's instincts in hiring him and writing for him were right on target. The man is the musical. Balsamo went on from this performance to work for Andrew Lloyd Webber in the West End revival of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

This show has not as yet been produced in England or America but it should be done. It is a bit "high-points" as a bio-show, but then the life of Edgar Allan Poe was not without its low marks as well, and there are a few of them represented here. The character is fascinating and the show takes on too many of his very short years, really, and that never leaves the best impression. Still, the writing is very good and the songs by Woolfson - music and lyrics - are generally very catchy, singable and memorable. Phil Wilmott, the director, has done a fine job of maneuvering a relatively large cast around a small, temporary space and Mitch Sebastian has provided just enough dance movement to justify his third position. David Firman, musical director of the DVD does an excellent job as does the CD version's conductor Gavyn Wright. On the latter version Woolfson also plays keyboards.

This is a rather lavish package of vanity production work, but one which may well result in a live, full-fledged production in the United States. It should because the work is very well worth developing. However, it does need developing and the author/creator is now dead. It could be that this will be the only permanent set of records. And that is also a rarity. Indeed.