Metropolis (Hayes Theatre) ★★

Book and Lyrics by Julia Robertson. Music by Zara Stanton. Presented by the Little Eggs Collective in association with Hayes Theatre Co. World Premiere. Apr 21 – May 20, 2023

Metropolis, the new musical receiving its World Premiere at Hayes Theatre, is an ambitious piece. Adapting an acclaimed film (and novel) about a revolution between the working classes and a rich elite, with one of the most iconic robots in cinema. This is a big task for the small stage.

Joh Fredersen (Joshua Robson) is the master of Metropolis, ruling the shining city from his tower. The city is run by the Great Machine, hidden underground and served by an underclass of manual workers who never see the sun. But when Fredersen’s teenage son, Freder (Tom Dawson), explores the undercity, he discovers a gentle revolutionary, Maria (Shannen Alyce Quan), who preaches a message of unity and equality. Meanwhile in Fredersen’s tower, inventor Rotwang (Thomas Campbell) has been tasked with creating a mechanical workforce to replace the humans below… but instead has created a robotic woman waiting for a soul.

There’s always an issue adapting a story that has inspired subsequent fan favourites. Look at the original John Carter of Mars novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, or William Gibson’s Neuromancer that inspired most mainstream sci-fi that followed. In the case of Metropolis, the look and feel was mimicked wholeheartedly by films like Star Wars (C-3PO was directly inspired by the robot Maria) and subsequent stories have taken it to new places. As beloved as the original may be, it starts to look dated and accidentally derivative. A good example is the recently staged Urinetown that had a similar plot to Metropolis but played with the tropes of a revolutionary uprising using better tunes, a smarter book and a great sense of humour – all of which are lacking here. 

The set by Nick Fry fills the stage with art-deco styling (ala the film version) transforming the small space into both the luxury of Fredersen’s tower, and the darkness of the world below. Ryan McDonald’s lighting design breathes life into the space and does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting. The puppet robot is indeed a thing of beauty to see, given life by three puppeteers. Perhaps it is in these technical details the show reaches its peak.

There are strong vocal performances from the whole cast, but Robson’s Fredersen seems to be barely older than his son (note to casting directors, there are musical theatre performers of all ages available). Add to this Quan’s unconvincing transformation from flesh & blood Maria into her robotic self (there is no visual similarity between actor and puppet. If you didn’t already know the plot, you might be left very confused).

The book and lyrics by Julia Robertson (who also directs) and music by Zara Staunton, are rather bland and seemingly designed by, well, an algorithm. Insert torch song here. Insert comedy number here. Insert dance number here. Insert sexual harassment number here (yes, I mean Rotwang’s song in which he sings about sexualising the robot). The disjointed tunes feel like they come from different shows and give no sense of character development. It resembles a pastiche of the pompously grandiose musicals of the 90s. At least it seemed that way, the sound mix was quite muddy making the lyrics hard to pick out.

In 2023 it’s frankly retrograde to stage a show about three white men that denies the agency of its sole female character. The ‘revolutionary’ Mariah is nothing more than a placid victim preaching of a saviour to come (oh guess what, it’s a man!). Maria is either idolised or treated as an object, exclusively from a male point-of-view. Who is the audience meant to root for? Certainly not fascist Fredersen or creepy Rotwang. For all the doe-eyed charm Dawson gives young Freder, he is a naive child who doesn’t grow up (but is apparently the saviour?!) and Quan’s Mariah is given the depth & personality of an inspirational cat poster. I couldn’t connect with anything happening on the stage because I simply did not believe or care for any of them.

Ultimately I think what’s missing here is a clear creative point of view. This new version of Metropolis is simply turning the film into a musical without any adaptation or reinvention to suit the times or medium. If you’re a fan of musical theatre and want to support the development of new works (and I feel like you should) then you might find elements here to appreciate, but if you’re just after an evening’s entertainment then I can’t really say it’s worth your $79 a seat. Hold out for City of Angels, a stone cold classic of a show.