It was only a matter of time before a musical theater piece would emerge about the O.J. Simpson trial, and here it is. Composer Anthony Newman also collaborated on its libretto with Raoul Cansino. While the texts are the weakest component of this engaging but ultimately unsatisfying work, you have to credit the authors for making Nicole rather than her notorious husband the protagonist. As a consequence, Nicole emerges not just as a victim or tragic figure, but as a mother, daughter, friend, and lover full of dimension and feeling. Newman sets out to recreate the baroque style, but can’t help letting stretches of late-19th century harmony enter into the mix. By contrast, the continuous, churning textures rarely vary in register or emotional impact and prevent Newman’s stronger melodic gestures from truly taking wing. I wager that financial and scheduling conflicts necessitated the use of more than one singer in each of the principal roles. Of the three Nicoles, I opt for Susan Lewis’ crystal clear and evenly modulated soprano in the opening scenes. And O.J.’s intense litany at the end of Act One gets an appropriately half-desperate, half-smirking reading from Joel Frederickson. But when you substitute four singers for a full male chorus, you’re stuck with a barbershop quartet, like it or not. There’s one clever touch that should be mentioned: Kato the witness is portrayed as a canine. His tenor aria is the opera’s high point, a vocal tour-de-force requiring range, agility, and good howling technique. Mark Heller relishes the music’s heroic contours, and sings his head off. Oh well, who ever hasn’t been upstaged by a dog? Texts are included.
