It’s Just So Great To Be Alive: A Love Letter to “Emojiland”
What’s really going on in the minds of the little characters we text with? I certainly wasn’t expecting to start my decade with another musical theatre obsession so soon. I also wasn’t expecting the musical in question to be the off-Broadway musical Emojiland. On paper, this concept for this musical sounds like it could just be a shallow cash-grab waiting to happen. But the Off-Broadway production currently running at the Duke on 42nd Street is so full of wonderful surprises and depth, it’s no wonder I’ve fallen so deeply in love with every aspect of the show. Emojiland is a New York Times Critics Pick that deserves every bit of praise it’s gotten - but also a deeper appreciation.
What exactly IS Emojiland about? Well, it’s more than you may think a show about emojis could ever be about. Every emoji in Emojiland is pretty much taken at face value - Princess is a bitch, Sunny (Smiling Face With Sunglasses) is shallow, Kissy Face is shameless, Man in Business Suit Levitating (MIBL) is greedy - but some emojis have hidden depths. Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes (Smize) has depression, Police Officer and Construction Worker are lovers. The phone gets an upgrade and new emojis arrive - including Prince (a supremely camp gay rival to Princess) and Nerd Face (who has been installed knowing that anything is possible with the zeros and ones of binary code.) Nerd Face is quickly smitten by Smize, but Sunny (Smize’s not-so-loyal romantic partner) is a jerk to him, so the dejected Nerd Face befriends charismatic goth outcast Skull, who wants to delete himself. MIBL convinces Princess and Prince (who don’t want Queen or King to be installed next update in fear of losing their supreme control over Emojiland) to have a firewall constructed. Police Officer and Construction Worker have to choose sides over whether they’ll support the wall, and Skull decides to take advantage of Nerd Face’s genius to make a virus to delete himself - and the rest of Emojiland too. Nerd Face has to save the day. There’s lots of surprises in act two, including a visit from a fairy godmother-like Pile of Poo, changes of heart, heartbreaking losses, and second chances. The way this story plays out has me cheering, sobbing, and laughing in equal measure.
Keith Harrison and Laura Schein’s musical first made its debut at the dearly departed New York Musical Festival in 2018 to positive notices, so it’s no surprise it has found its way to the Duke on 42nd Street. A show like this could be a hard sell (we all know how infamous the Emoji Movie turned out to be) but the producers and creative team have truly outdone themselves in making this musical as spectacular as possible. Every creative element is perhaps the best I’ve ever seen in an off-Broadway limited engagement: Tom Caruso’s deft direction, Kenny Ingram’s fabulous choreography, clever set design from David Goldstein, gorgeous lighting design from Jamie Roderick, absolutely genius costume and wig design from Vanessa Leuck and Bobbie Zlotnick, impeccable sound design by Ken Goodwin, and truly innovative projection and laser work by Lisa Renkel and Possible Productions all add up to a truly imaginative evening of theatre. The visual genius of this show alone is worth the price of admission - you truly feel like you’ve been transported into a phone.
Beyond those sterling creative elements, though, lie the show’s biggest strengths - its casting, its score, and its book. This supremely talented cast of fourteen is honestly the closest thing off-Broadway may ever get to its own “Avengers” of musical theatre talent. It’s a true ensemble piece where everyone gets a chance to shine. Queen Lesli Margherita and Josh Lamon are a comedy dream team as the dueling divas Princess and Prince. George Abud exudes Spongebob-like lovableness as Nerd Face, and co-writer Laura Schein is adorably winning as the sad-on-the-inside Smize; their fizzy and sweet chemistry has so much real heart you can’t help but root for them. Jacob Dickey is a suitably self-obsessed Sunny, and Heather Makalani is a supremely quotable Kissy Face. Natalie Weiss’ Construction Worker provides fierce vocals and delightful chemistry with Felicia Boswell’s badass Police Officer. As Man in Business Suit Levitating, the very talented Max Crumm does the entire show on a hoverboard. Dwelvan David, Jordan Fife Hunt and Tanisha Moore provide endless energy (and countless costume changes) as Princess’ guardsman and dancing emojis, respectively. Broadway gem Ann Harada gives a scene-stealing turn as the Poop emoji. And Lucas Steele, dearly missed after his Tony-nominated turn as Anatole in Great Comet, makes his long-awaited return to the stage as Skull, exuding morbid charm like a Victorian dandy with a death wish. I am desperate for a professional recording of the show - every performance is instantly iconic. It needs to be preserved for future audiences to watch and rewatch and fall deeper in love with. (BroadwayHD, if you’re listening… film it.)
This cast is absolutely packed with talent, and it’s such a treat to have this cast sing such a brilliant score. Harrison and Schein have packed this show with such catchy and memorable tunes, I’m still impressed they haven’t left my head since the first preview. Every number is a legitimate standout and I love them all, but I can easily name a few favorites. The beyond-earwormy opening number “It’s Just So Great to Be Alive” is one of the most upbeat and engaging openers I’ve seen in a musical in a while. Princess and Prince’s brassy duet “New Crown In Town” raucously showcases Margherita and Lamon’s crazy good vocals as well as their unmatched comedic timing. Police Officer’s heartbreaking love ballad “A Thousand More Words” deserves to become a modern musical theatre standard, with Boswell belting for the gods and getting ovations night after night. Skull’s absolutely jaw-dropping act one finale song “Thank Me Now” features riffs so high I felt myself transcend the first time I heard Lucas Steele sing it. (The cast recording comes out on February 28th, and I hope it becomes a viral phenomenon like a certain tech-heavy musical about a tiny computer gone rogue that became beloved by teens on social media.)
Every other review of Emojiland focuses heavily on these major positives of the show. But what absolutely shocks me about the press this show has received is that barely anyone has touched on the nuances of Harrison and Schein’s book - and as a budding book writer this feels egregious and wrong. Yes, the book to Emojiland is cute, campy and charming, with plenty of cell phone and social-media-speak jokes (hashtag blessed.) The book is also surprisingly deep and existential, maybe more than some might think a show about emojis has any right to be. It touches on themes of being more than what people take from face value, how we are all capable of change, and how we all matter despite how insignificant we may feel. Smize’s struggles with depression and her “outside not matching her inside” hits home for anyone struggling with any kind of self-doubt. The themes of the show even touch on current events, with the plot-significant firewall and distrust of new emojis as a tie to the current xenophobia crisis in this country, as well as the virus plot becoming an unexpectedly relevant echo to the coronavirus scare. These touches are handled well and don’t take away from the show’s underlying messages of how we see ourselves and others, going beyond face value to see who we truly are. My playwright brain has been fizzing all month because I can’t get over how supremely smart Emojiland truly is - I would love to write a musical book as clever as this. There are so many wise truths hidden in the comedy and camp. There’s a moment in act two where Nerd Face is on the brink of a “textistential” crisis as the virus he unwittingly helped make takes further hold of Emojiland and he starts to feel emojis truly mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. In response, Smize sings a devastatingly gorgeous song, “Anyway”, to him:
We are fragile
We are small
To most of time and space
We’re hardly here at all...
But I can think
And therefore I am
I’m part of the universe
Not just the RAM...
In every moment we’re making a choice
We’re giving the universe part of its voice....
Nothing lasts forever
but we matter anyway
These lyrics are so profound and delivered so heartrendingly by Smize. This song may be near the end of the show, but it’s truly the beating heart of this musical chock full of shockingly thought-provoking moments. The fact no other critics have even mentioned how deep the lyrics are feels like a disservice to the entire musical - were they on their phones during the most profound parts of the show?
If you were to ask me five months ago if I had any interest in seeing a show called Emojiland, I’d probably say “no, not really.” But taking a chance on this show I’ve discovered a show that has brought me so much joy in such a short amount of time. (As of publication of this review, I have seen the show twelve times, including opening night.) Emojiland is masterfully constructed, and executed in the most professional and exciting way. The run is only until March 19th, so it is imperative you get to the Duke on 42nd Street to see for yourself just how surprisingly brilliant it is. Emojiland is unmissable, off-Broadway perfection.
Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
