As I discussed in a preview article a couple of weeks ago, this show is not the opera of Mozart fame. It is a new musical by Seattle native Jesse Smith; produced in cooperation between Seattle Musical Theater and Fruition Productions. While it has retains the plot and story of Ponte’s libretto, the music, lyrics, and dialog of Smith’s Don Giovanni are all new work.

My preview was based on an interview with the production team. At the time, I wrote very highly of the ideas put forth. Now that I’ve finally seen the show, I can give you an idea of how the finished product matches up to the creative vision. After all, lots of people have good ideas. The question is how well they get implemented.

For the most part, Don Giovanni met or exceeded my expectations. The live music was excellent, inspiring feelings of excitement, laughter, loss, and fear at all the right moments. A tip of my hat to Mr. Smith for his composition. The singing was a success as well; particularly the female leads. Heather Ruiz as Donna Anna, Justine Rose Stillwell as Zerlina, and Lindsey Hedberg as Donna Elvira amazed me with their haunting voices.

The set was spot on. The shades of gray and shifting stair cases gave the impression of an M.C. Escher painting, which increased the overall surreal feeling of the show. The choreography really shone in the big group numbers, especially the dances at the start and end of the show. The jerky, almost possessed movement of the chorus made me shiver.

On the other side of the scale, Don Giovanni had a few shortcomings. First of all, I was confused by the main character’s costume. When Giovanni took off his vest, something about the fit of his clothes made it look like he was wearing black overalls. The Don is supposed to be a fancy gentleman; his outfit should have been more elegant. There were also a couple of times when the singer’s body mikes went on the fritz and sent bursts of static through the speakers.

From a story perspective, I didn’t like the fact that Giovanni needed a distraction from Leporello to kill the Commendatore. The Don is essentially the show’s villain in addition to being the main character, and as such all other characters are in opposition to him. His character needs to be powerful enough to give the others pause, to raise the question over whether Giovanni will ever pay for his heinous deeds. Winning a sword fight against an old man should be child’s play to him.

Those issues aside, Don Giovanni was fantastic. It runs until January 23rd at Seattle Musical Theater, and is well worth the price of admission. Tickets are available here. If you enjoy it, then I suggest looking into the upcoming Apparition from Fruition Productions and The Drowsy Chaperone from Seattle Musical Theater. Both shows start in February.