Being both generally intrigued by new musicals/their composers, and known to occasionally debate Sex in the City’s relationship to reality, when we heard about Cait and Meggie Doyle’s new musical Hot Mess in Manhattan, we knew had to check it out for you guys.
Featuring the songs of 11 hot new musical theater composers (or composing teams) Hot Mess is a 75-minute journey through the life of The Mess, a mid-twenties Manhattanite, with a barren wasteland for a bank account, a self-imposed, semi-tragic boy situation and dreams she can hardly remember anymore. When mom cuts her off and a particularly drunken night costs her the lame karaoke hosting gig she relies on, The Mess realizes she’s got some work to do. So of course, she’s going to use Carrie Bradshaw to guide her journey. Fantastic idea.
Hot Mess is frothy entertainment, peppered with moments of fresh, realistic insight about the young, urban experience in NYC. Plus, there’s a hot guy who takes his shirt off—Jared Zirilli—and the songs are good, too. Despite each being written by a different composer, all eleven songs work within the context of the musical. Some of our favorites include Ryan Scott Oliver’s “The Mess” (above), Drew Gasparini’s “Text Message Song,” Gaby Alter’s “Union Square” and Adam Gwon’s “Running.”
This weekend Hot Mess is wrapping up a developmental run at the Theater of Actors on 54th Street, so if you want to see more, there’s a bit of time to check it out. If you can’t make it, we’ll pop a few more videos below so you can get a taste of the music, and of co-librettist/leading lady Cait Doyle’s sense of humor.
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