"The Times They Are A-Changin' "

Boy has mean circus owner as a father. Circus owner abuses everyone in sight, including attractive young woman circus performer. Boy and young woman fall in love. Father dies. All celebrate. Boy and young woman commit to one another. Boy now owns circus. End.

Is this a story that needs to be told? Is this a story that is even very interesting? Is this a story that can be successfully propelled by the presentation of Bob Dylan songs alongside choreography by Twyla Tharp? No. No. No. Are Broadway performers energetic and talented enough to make this bizarre concept into an entertaining evening? Yes.

But it still isn't worth a trip to the theatre. Throughout this 90-minute parade of carnie freaks, acrobatics, Dylan song after Dylan song without any thought put to character development (and these are songs laced with meaning and feeling), I couldn't help but wonder what could have been if Twyla had come up with a unifying concept, inserted a well-written book, and perhaps brought in a few more collaborators to impose some checks and balances on her crazy directorial whims. The plot was scattered across the stage, leaving the audience to fit together something vaguely satisfying to take with them. Are we supposed to be so absolutely consumed by the visuals of the show and the Broadway belting acrobatics that we just forget about plot? Because I just can't do that, and I hope that that's not what we're coming to as a theatregoing population.

Michael Arden in the "Mr. Tamborine Man" scene.

At its best, there were inspired moments of staging, as in "Knocking on Heaven's Door," which was accompanied by a visually interesting flashlight dance, and "Mr. Tamborine Man," which played interestingly with the theme of death, but simply didn't fit into the show.

The cast did a good job with the material given them. The three leads, Michael Arden (Coyote, the young man), Thom Sesma (Captain Ahrab, the father), and brand new replacement Lisa Brescia (Cleo, the young woman) were wonderful. Sesma's voice was closest to Dylan's own, but the two younger cast members were electrifying in many of the songs. I understood why the audience wanted so much to like the show. Everyone was trying so damned hard and performing to their absolute fullest, but even the best performing can't fix a broken show sometimes.

At the very least, the show inspired me to listen to some Bob Dylan on my iPod on the way home, but I advise anyone else thinking of attending this scattershot show to keep their money and do just that -- turn up their iPods.