It’s tough to criticize a theater company whose mission is to “promote mercy, beauty and truth through performance and service.” That is the self-professed goal of the youth-oriented JARADOA (Just a Roomful of Artists Doing Outreach And), whose new musical “I’ll Be Damned” is on display at the Vineyard Theatre.
This show by Rob Broadhurst (music and book) and Brent Black (lyrics and book) certainly means well in its depiction of a hopelessly geeky, comic-book-obsessed 19-year-old so desperate to find a friend that he resorts to making a pact with the devil. But “Damn Yankees” it’s not.
It’s not hard to see why Louis (Jacob Hoffman) has social difficulties, having been home-schooled by a single mom (Mary Testa) who has somehow neglected to inform him that she has an actual name and that he wasn’t delivered by a stork.
Despite having created a comic-book character named “Friendetta” (Kenita R. Miller) whose superpower consists of finding friends for lonely people, Louis is sadly alone, throwing a birthday party for himself for which no one bothers to show up.
Except, that is, for Satan (Kurt Robbins, exuding Bruce Willis-like slickness), whose efforts to fulfill his end of the deal are thwarted by Louis’ total inability not to alienate everyone with whom he comes into contact.
With a score that includes such numbers as “Welcome to Hell” with a chorus of dancing demons, “I’ll Be Damned” might appeal to younger audiences who will best appreciate its broad, “Avenue Q”-style humor. The reliable pro Testa (“Xanadu,” “On the Town”) is a hoot as the clingy mom, and recent NYU grad Hoffman, both hilarious and touching as Louis, is a real find.
But despite some fairly catchy songs, the show, which includes a plot twist involving a surprisingly lonely God (Gregory Treco), is far too sophomoric to justify its bloated, 2 1/4 -hour running time.
While not exactly a hellish experience, watching “I’ll Be Damned” does give the feeling of being trapped in purgatory.