David Cale, William Jackson Harper and Vondie Curtis-Hall performed in THE TOTAL BENT. Photo Credit: Joseph Moran

The Total Bent is a very interesting name for a new off-Broadway play that recently opened at The Public Theater (455 Lafayette Street in Manhattan). Written and composed by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, the creators of Tony-Award-Winning Passing Strange, this neo-soul-gospel production puts many in the audience totally bent in a variety of directions—mentally bent that is. From the get-go as you look around the cozy, closed in venue with grandiose rusting pillars, we can tell that this theater gives a home to very entertaining and raw environments. It is all a very informal set-up, but the musical instruments and other assorted props on the stage remind us that we do have a show to watch. And with great attention did the audience watch, trying to consume as much information as they could—although the play certainly left a lot of questions roving about unanswered as to just what message Stew was trying to convey to us. This wasn’t so much of a phase of confusion as it was a long moment of enchantment.

This “enchantment” I speak of, comes entirely from the styles of music that was featured throughout the show. The opening number was a loud and strange ruckus of sounds that didn’t do very well in giving us a clue as to what we were about to encounter. Piercing sounds of laughter and soulful singing could be heard in a jumbled fashion, alongside random clangs and space sounds and sporadic beats. These sounds quickly faded as a man with a British accent, David Cale, entered the stage and began give a little background information. He then proceeded to engage in what could not be called the most beautiful singing, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The piano man played in the background with no other instruments, just slow bangs against the piano keys. Soon the song ended, and he left us with the question, “What happened on that night?”

The entire handling of the music was very obscure and intriguing in that one almost didn’t know what to expect when you first entered the theater, but by the middle of the show you’d be so impressed by the stellar musical arrangements that you would quickly forget your criticisms about any plot-hole that you may have spotted (such as what exactly did happen on that night, and how did “Mary” die?). While such confusion prevailed throughout the entire duration of the play, I garnered a new appreciation as the silky soft yet powerfully soul voices of William Jackson Harper, and Vondie Curtis-Hall collided with my eardrums. The sweet soul—a mixture of gospel and plain rock and roll—drew all in with each passing scene. There were few moments the audience wasn’t bobbing my head and stomping my feet to the rhythm. They became completely immersed into the soulful space fusion that Stew had prepared for this audience in the form of art. It was a pleasant masterpiece of engaging music, whether you got the storyline completely or not.