JUST ONE WORLD
But Just One World has many lovely moments, too. Its songs may be preachy but they’re also passionate, and that’s unusual enough in the “let’s not offend anyone” show-business marketplace to merit recommendation. The 12-person cast bursts with talent and conviction. And the core of the show is a fine, catchy jazz-rock score loaded with infectious hooks, captivating counterrhythms, and glossy, glowing instrumental textures.
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With performers of such talent and energy, and the pretty primitive/futuristic designs of Gary Heitz (lights), Lois K. Carder (costumes), and Gardiner/Price Design (sets), Just One World is often enchanting. It would be a shame, however, if audiences singing and bopping along to Antelis and Mercury’s environmentalist anthems thought that that was enough to protect the sphere we live on; there’s a lot of hard work to be done, and I wish this show had a harder edge beneath its seductive, shiny surface.
