This small musical show seems primarily created to showcase the talents of Paul Scott Goodman, an obviously gifted composer/lyricist. There have been earlier developmental productions, but this co-production with MetroStage of Alexandria, Virginia, is listed by Geva Theater Center as its world premiere.
Rooms has the appeal of a simple love story, intimately staged in a small theater and performed by two original characters. That both have very authentic-sounding and almost impenetrable Scottish accents and mostly remain in the same contemporary clothing let's call it "informal" could turn prospective audiences on or off.
Natascia Diaz and Doug Kreeger are both very accomplished actors/singers/dancers (I recently saw Kreeger in Kander and Ebb's musical version of The Visit in Arlington, Virginia). Both are impressive in Rooms' dramatic showcase solos: he has a tour de force song called "Clean" about addiction to and overcoming alcoholism that is a knockout. But they are directed (and music-directed) to maintain a naturalistic, grungy counter-culture tone that underplays what might be called appealing characterization or pretty singing. Diaz's character, in particular, seems directed to stay combative and unsmiling until she noticeably softens at the happy ending. For me, that aggressive delivery plus the harsh Scots intonations make much of her singing reminiscent of bagpipe music. Again, that's a quality that audience members could variously find attractive or annoying.
The simple plot involves two young songwriters: Monica, quirky, Scottish and Jewish, wants to escape her family and star in a Broadway musical; Ian, a permanently unkempt rock musician, wants to play music and escape into alcohol in Glasgow. They meet, combine their talents for making songs, and move to London, where she becomes pregnant and his drinking gets worse. She want to abort the baby; he leaves her and flees to Scotland; she move on to New York. All this is told in something like flashbacks when we begin the musical with him unexpectedly showing up at her place in New York. Happy ending: he's clean and no longer drinking; she's kept the baby, and they have a little son (unseen); so they write a Scottish anthem together.
The finale is more moving than that plot summary might suggest. And, as I've admitted, there are some stunning highlights. But it's a concentrated look at two oddballs who might not have great universal appeal. However artistically sound and appropriate, neither the show's visual trappings nor its underscoring music would be likely to warm anybody's cockles. So what occasions the very appreciative applause at the end is almost entirely the achievement of the two skilled young performers.
