‘Rabbit Hole’ actress deserves better musical

"Down the Rabbit Hole" -- a solo musical drama from Los Angeles -- is one terrific audition piece for its star, the charismatic Erin Jividen. But it's a noodle of a show, as heavy-handed and half-baked as they come.

Writer Jividen has an intriguing idea: a young professional, in the midst of an emotional break-up, returns to her parents' home and reviews her life, through diaries, fairy tale books and clothes, all of which have been preserved in her bedroom.

When she acts out the fairy tales she grew up on, she puts her own adult spin on the characters. Cinderella's upset because, she sings, "I married a fag"; Little Red Hiding Hood is a gangsta rapper who has her grandmother murdered; Sleeping Beauty is a victim of child abuse. We see womanhood from different angles, and it's no surprise that in the end, our heroine gets over her depression and is ready to do battle again.

Jividen as a performer is a real find. She's long, leggy and beautiful as a Vegas chorus girl, has the sensitive and powerful belt of a Broadway performer and the depth and nuance of a serious actress. She deserves a one-woman show.

But not this one.

Jividen as a script and songwriter specializes in feminist pop uplift, with dialogue that carries no weight and lyrics that are steeped in banalities ("I wanna dance naked in the rain" is her typical brand of goo).

Her take-offs on the fairy tales don't illuminate her situation, or explain her sudden change of heart in the end. Her Tinker Bell, for example, sings of taking care of the planet, via energy conservation, recycling, smog prevention. Although the song contributes to the characters' emerging recognition of her empowerment, it doesn't tell us anything about this particular character.

And why does she sing in the end about knowing that one day her prince will come? If this is truly a story about empowerment, why doesn't she realize she needs to build her own worthwhile life, with or without a man?

The evening is too generic to tell us much of anything. And Jividen, while an enormously talented actress, has a tendency to overstate. Director Bryan Rasmussen doesn't control her.

There are possibilities here. Jividen's portrayal of a villainous Little Red Hiding Hood is genuinely frightening, and she's equally convincing as a self-pitying, panicking stepmother in "Snow White." I suspect Jividen needs collaboration. A song and book writer, steeped in musical theater knowledge, could free up her considerable talent and help her realize a story that obviously means a lot to her but doesn't yet exist.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.