Bukowsical!

Description
** [TWO STARS] Framing a musical as a backers’ audition for said musical allows a creative (and I use this word loosely) team to have its cake and eat it too: You don’t need real sets or costumes, and the meta device opens the door to an endless stream of ironic joking. But for every clever and funny "Gutenberg! The Musical!," there’s a dozen half-baked efforts like the Los Angeles import "Bukowsical!" Over the course of 90 minutes and 17 numbers, Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale tell the life of Charles Bukowski, the patron saint of creative alcoholics. Sadly, the show perfectly embodies a certain trend of mocking everything, including itself, and thus not believing in anything, including itself. The one and only worthy moment comes halfway through, when a “lawyer” tries to stop the production on behalf of the Bukowski estate; this prompts the cast to launch into a number (oddly, not listed in the program) comparing New York to L.A. The jokes may be obvious, but at least they’re real jokes.—Elisabeth Vincentelli, Arts & Entertainment Editor