I believe you all
know the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and how she destroyed him by
cutting his long hair. In the 40s, director Cecil B. DeMille gave it the
Hollywood treatment in glorious Technicolor and before that, in 1877, became an
opera by Camille Saint-Saëns. So I’m not surprised that now someone turned that
love story into a musical (I’m not sure if someone else did it before).
As you probably
might guess, this is another contemporary pop/rock musical, the kind that
leaves me completely cold. The big problem of Ron Yatter’s score is that it’s
uninteresting and repetitive. There is some melody here, but unfortunately it
never soars. “American Idol” stars Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo (that sometimes
remind me of Idina Menzel’s voice) were chosen to sing these roles; they have
good voices and the score is really up their alley, but I didn’t feel their
passion.
The first lyrics
we hear are “Oh, Samson! Oh, Samson!” and that brought a smile to my lips. The
song that follows is entitled “The Apple of My Eye”, other “We Soar Through The
Stars In The Sky” and this shows how simple, basic and corny the lyrics are.
I know this is a
concept recording of a forthcoming musical, but as it is I doubt it’ll work on
a Broadway stage. It needs stronger character songs and at least a couple of
songs that distinguish themselves from the rest. As it is, it’s a dull score.
Rate: 1 (from 1 to 10)
Mr. Yatter needs to get a professional to help him redo the material or he needs to go back to being an agent. Most of the songs sound stuck in the mid-80's. Diana DeGarmo gives it the old college try but even she can't fix this mess.
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