By Bart Greenberg***Vocalist Rosemary Loar brought her autobiographical musical, The Three Sisters; Jersey Edition, to The Greenroom 42 for a one-night revival of the show that won her a Best Musical at United SoloFest. Not only did she perform the show, she also wrote the book and score. And she surrounded herself with a top-flight support team, including director-dramaturg Barry Kleinbort, music 
director-co-arranger-pianist Frank Ponzio, violinist-bakeup singer Emily Mikesell, choreographer Antoinette Di Pietropolo and graphic-lighting-sound designer Bruce Alan Johnson. All of them did their very best to provide a solid and coherent story. Johnson especially did a great job in providing an almost non-stop visual display of pictures and animation to illustrate the story.
The story Loar has to tell is of the long and deep friendship between herself and two of her sisters. Her eldest sibling, Maureen, passed away, and it fell to the other two to empty out the rental house that Maureen and her deceased husband had shared for many years. It turned out to be a “hoarder Hell” (Loar’s use of language is delightful and illuminating). What followed is a comic and exasperating tale of trying to clean out the overwhelming collection. This story is filled with a string of character studies of those who helped and those who got in the way, all strongly brought to life by the storyteller. Then the tale took a decidedly darker tone without any preparation; some foreshadowing would have been welcome and helped with the emotional impact of the last third of the evening.
Loar’s music is, for the most part angular and defying of categorization, a sort of contemporary art song mixed with jazz influences. Only the climatic “You’re Still Here” reached a theatrically satisfying build. Her lyrics, both comic—especially about cats—and heart-breaking, share a similar angularity with intentional repetitions and surprising side notes, underscoring their similarity to jazz improvisation. Her dancing reflected this ethos as well— except for one burst of energy she identified as “Irish Catholic hip hop.”
As a performer, Loar was notably warm and inviting. She carefully involved every section of the audience in her story. Just as her script did, she expressed compassion for all of the characters she enlivened, both those who helped her in her tasks and those who intervened. All were brought to vivid life.
The Three Sisters: Jersey Edition, which has no echoes of the Chekhov play, is a compelling piece of theatre despite its flaws—and Loar brings a great deal of energy and emotion to it. Hopefully, it will return again.
Photos by Bart Greenberg
