When lyricist/librettist Bill Russell is not busy writing influential, iconic musicals like the Tony-nominated Side Show and Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens he does not put down the pen (or the keyboard) but rather keeps busy with an endless stream of poems and observations, rants and raves. He culls his favorites from the fruits of this fanciful pastime and annually sends them to friends and cohorts. One of the recipients of these packets of rhyme is director Justin Ross Cohen. After years of enjoying these tiny treasures, Cohen suggested that they turn a group of them into a show; that idea has blossomed into reality with Bill Russell’s Has Anyone Seen My Mind? that debuted for a brief run at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.
The show is a mix of spoken word and songs that becomes a running commentary on contemporary life with its aggravations and joys, pitfalls and hopes, fears and promises, disappointments and romance, and technology; in other words, it has all the obvious targets, but hopes for fresh, less obvious responses to those targets are soon diminished if not demolished. There are still laughs to be had, melodies to captivate, and a few clever responses to surprise, but what works as a fanciful exchange of wordplay among friends, a few at a time, proves too slight to survive a trip to the stage where an audience less familiar with its creator is left to respond to just what’s there under the lights.
Helping the situation immeasurably is an accomplished, energetic cast of theatre veterans conjuring as much magic as they can, overcoming some obstacles which I will address in a moment. Erin Davie, Taylor Iman Jones,, Kelvin Moon Loh, and Ryan Silverman keep things interesting and amusing with strong voices and distinctive character work. It’s also a bit of a homecoming since all but Jones were involved in the first Broadway revival of Side Show. Cabaret and theatre maestro Mark Hartman’s playing and conducting provide his usual smart, scintillating, irresistible scoring. Most of the music is provided by Russell’s long-term partner, Janet Hood, with a few assists from Nick Cearley of The Skivvies and Ron Melrose. The overall success of the score is undercut somewhat by a preponderance of gospel numbers, often incongruous with the “woke” subject matter. Each song might work on its own but there is a sameness to the sound that does little to bolster the already fragile lyrics in some of the songs.
My main reservations are with the man who came up with the idea in the first place, director Justin Ross Cohen with whom I place the major blame for the performance problems since they are so consistent and pervasive. If energy. intensity and volume were measured on a scale from one to 10, then the cast has been directed to start at a seven and burst through to an 11 or 12 too many times. The comedic (and even the serious and dramatic) moments can’t survive the aural onslaught. I can’t remember a song that wasn’t belted to within an inch of its musical life. It was all big, no matter how small the subject at hand might be.
Even more distressingly, the same intensity was applied to the poems which were so over the top that subtlety was nowhere to be found; pieces that were obviously the verbal equivalent of a wink or a whisper were distorted into melodramatic declamations. Not one was presented in an understated or conversational way. Everyone seemed to be trying too hard; they are so talented they didn’t have to.
Bill Russell’s work is always good and Has Anyone Seen My Mind? could have been a charming, witty, and low-key evening of pithy observations and musical delights; it’s a pity that so much talent was prevented from delivering it.
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Presented at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W. 42nd St., NYC, Nov. 3. 10, 17, 24, 2025.
Gerry Geddes, critic for BistroAwards.com, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, performer, lyricist, and a contributor to the podcast Troubadours and Raconteurs. He conceived and directed the acclaimed musical revues Monday in the Dark with George (Bistro and MAC Award winner), Put on Your Saturday Suit—Words & Music by Jimmy Webb, and Gerry Geddes & Company (in its five-year residency at Pangea). He has directed singers André De Shields, Darius de Haas, Helen Baldassare, and Lisa Viggiano. He has been active in the cabaret world for over five decades and has produced numerous CDs; his lyrics have been performed and recorded here and in Europe. Gerry’s workshop, The Art of Vocal Performance, is regularly offered to singers of all levels. His memoir of life in NYC, Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?, was recently published and is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.
