BLAST! Catapults Boston

As a genre normally confined to parades and football fields, few could have guessed that Broadway would be the next step in the evolution of marching band and drum corps. Yet having just finished its week-long run at the Wang Theatre, Blast! does just that. The show takes outdoor pageantry long consigned to the fringe of musical legitimacy and translates it into high art without sacrificing any of its popular appeal.

From the first note, Blast! proves itself to be much more than a marching band that took a wrong turn on the way to a football game. The show takes an innovative approach by combining elements of both modern dance and the marching arts. In choosing to forgo a traditional storyline and instead to rely on a series of musical tableaux themed around the color spectrum, Blast! succeeds in communicating pure emotion.

As Blast! develops, the colors become progressively warmer, and with this change in mood, the performers become more playful on stage. The actors interact with the audience, running down the aisles, shaking audience’s hands, and encouraging those in their seats to clap in unison with the music. This warming effect is further enhanced by the musical repertoire, which begins as somber and reflective, switches to light and playful, and in the final scene is brash and bellicose.

Despite the show’s nearly complete lack of spoken dialogue, the music is performed with such passion and the visual design is so intriguing that the audience is completely transfixed. Even without any real plot, Blast! succeeds in effectively communicating and infusing in its audience a wide range of emotions. This is an achievement that is all too rare on stage and certainly a new accomplishment for the marching genre.

The production includes an exquisite array of visual effects. Multiple backdrops, including a two-story box divided into four cubes to hold the percussionists, extensive lighting techniques, and simple yet effective costuming contribute to the emotional impact of the show. At the heart of the performance, though, is the cast, comprised of over 50 brass musicians, percussionists, and dancers.

The cast’s youth occasionally shows through in the form of clammed notes and mishandled equipment, but these mishaps pale in comparison to the outstanding solos and consistently solid ensemble playing. The show’s only real weakness is its lack of original music (the repertoire is mainly comprised of classical, jazz, and theater selections), which detracts from an otherwise innovative concept.

Overall, though, the brilliant design of the production and the charisma of its young performers is a combination that inevitably brings audience members to their feet at the end of the performance. Blast! is currently on a U.S. tour expected to run well into 2003.