BOTTOM LINE: clever, campy, morbid, fun, raunchyA really smart musical comedy that deals with what could have been disastrous subject matter but is a staggering success. The bad news is Love is Dead has already closed...but look for it again and if you see a new production be sure to check it out.
Love is Dead tells the story of a lonely mortician who has sex with female murder victims, talks to dead bodies, and gets caught up in the middle of the hunt for a serial killer that he is trying to find. Now, if that doesn't sound like the makings of a good musical, I don't know what does. Oddly enough, this premise works to deliver a very funny musical comedy not for the weak at heart. I laughed out loud on several occasions.
The book is extremely clever and is helped by stellar performances from Chicago-based comedians Dan Jessup as the hysterical small town sheriff, and James Amus as the love struck undertaker. Amus along with Andrew Hobgood deliver some of the funniest lyrics you are bound to hear at Fringe. My personal favorites were delivered by the solid Lyndsay Hailet, who plays Jane Doe, as she expounds on the glories of post-mortem liaisons by belting out, "Flesh is flesh, even if it feels like flounder." Another favorite was from the very funny, freshly murdered surfer played by Mort Burke, who fancies himself a ladies man, who boasts that "The Earth is going to cum when they put me inside her." This is only a smattering of what you will get if you are willing to take the journey with Love is Dead. It's an exciting piece that I hope continues to have a life (no pun intended) long after the dust settles on the Fringe Fest.
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