It’s curious that Andy Warhol, the main character in “POP!” at Studio Theatre, doesn’t appear with a camera until the last scene, since he apparently never went anywhere without one. But then this Warhol story is not intended to be an accurate biographical portrayal. Instead, it’s a musical fantasy involving the people who swirled around Warhol at his studio, The Silver Factory, in its glory days in the late 1960s. The musical asks the rhetorical question, “Who shot Andy Warhol?”
The answer is a matter of historical record of course, but the show, directed by Keith Alan Baker, implies that Warhol had other acquaintances who could have willingly done the deed.
| Onstage |
| ‘POP!’ |
| Where: Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW |
| When: Through August 7 |
| Info: $38 to $43, 202-332-3300, studiotheatre.org |
There was Candy (Matthew Delorenzo), the infamous transsexual. There were Warhol’s actresses Viva (Deborah Lubega) and Edie (Marylee Adams). There was the actor Ondine (Sean- Maurice Lynch) and Warhol’s assistant, Gerard (Luke Tudball) and Valerie (Rachel Zampelli), the founder of SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men).
The musical suggests that they all resented Warhol for various reasons, having to do with attention or money. “POP!” takes place on the day Warhol was shot, June 3, 1968, then looks backward to examine Warhol’s relationships with each acquaintance.
Tom Story is an excellent singer and actor and he pulls off the difficult role of Warhol superbly. He’s tentative, droll, enigmatic. Coleman pictures Warhol as frustrated with the way his art was made into something it was not. Story brings out that frustration vividly when he sings: “It’s just a picture, it isn’t anything that’s real.”
Story is supported by a talented cast. The women are especially impressive, with voices that are outstanding alone and powerful together.
Unfortunately, the music and lyrics for “POP!” are not as memorable as the singers. Many of the songs bleed together. The most sensational numbers are those that reveal Warhol’s nature and therefore belong to Story, with the exception of “Big Gun,” sung by Valerie, Edie and Viva.
Although the musical contains brief allusions to the impact of Warhol’s work, “POP!” remains a bit reductive, implying that his art was primarily a cottage industry designed to delight his retinue, instead of an internationally transformative achievement. Where “POP!” really dazzles is in its depiction of Warhol’s vision and drive, the insight that let him see the virtue of multiple Brillo boxes and Campbell soup cans.
